TAKE THE KEY TAKE AND LOCK HER UP ALEXEI POV
by ellag2004
Summary: This is my first story and I just wrote it for fun! It's basically TAKE THE KEY TAKE AND LOCK HER UP In Alexei's POV. I hope you enjoy. The first few chapters are a bit slow but it gets better after Chapter 2. I will usually post weekly / fortnightly! ALL RIGHTS GO TO ALLY CARTER. PLEASE SKIP PAST CHAPTER 7 - THERE IS A FORMATTING ISSUE, CHAPTER 8 IS THE PROPER VERSION
1. RECOVERY

TAKE THE KEY TAKE AND LOCK HER UP

ALEXEI POV

CHAPTER ONE: RECOVERY

'Is that all you've got?' I teased, baiting Jamie to hit me harder. 'I'm gaining on you buddy,' says Jamie, as I circle around him.

'Yeah? Let's see you do it again,'

I guess you could say that I'm training him. No… it's more like guiding his recovery. But no matter what, there is no denying that Jamie is weak. I must be gentle with him. He is taking slow unbalanced steps towards me, and despite the freezing air, he starts to sweat and his whole body is shaking with effort and determination as he takes a slow swing at me. I'm not going to let him win that easily, so I duck and gently swing back. He tries to hit my shoulder with the bottom of his palm but I punch his hand away.

Fighting like this brings back memories of when we used to fight properly, before. Before he came back to Adria, before he was stabbed, before he came within an inch of having his whole life slip away. But it's too scary to think about. 'Again,' I say. If he's going to get his strength back, it will be by practising consistently. So, we resume our positions. We slowly move around, he punches, I block. I punch, he blocks.

Then Grace comes into view. She looks so cute with her bed-hair and oversized T-Shirt, standing behind the grimy window. 'Well I guess the princess has decided to join us,' I tease, but she doesn't laugh. She never does. I miss the way she would throw her head back slightly and purse her lips together really, really tightly to try and stop, which always ends in her eyes watering adorably. I miss the old Gracie. I am brought back to earth by her husky morning tone. 'Some of us need our beauty sleep,' she replies with a smirk. 'I'll say,' Jamie says smugly. So, I hit him. No-one, not even him, can insult her on my watch. Oops, maybe I hit him a little too hard. He stumbles back and catches himself quickly. Luckily, Grace didn't see, or I would be in trouble. 'Don't make me hurt you,' Jamie threatens, but all I can do is grin. 'My friend there is absolutely nothing I would welcome more.'

Jamie's next blow hits me square on the shoulder, a slow but steady punch. He's definitely improving. 'So, Alexei, any chance you still like little Gracie?' Jamie whispers with a small smile, just loud enough for me to hear. 'Maybe,' I reply through gritted teeth. Jamie and I tell each other everything, but the one thing that doesn't tend to come up that often are my developing feelings for his kid sister. 'Planning on making a move?' He whispers with a classic "Don't tell what you're actually thinking please" look. So, I don't. 'Nope,' I say quietly, as I push his hip backwards with a little too much force. He stumbles back again but luckily doesn't fall over. Oops, Grace saw that one.

'Jamie, why don't you rest for a little bit?' She asks, while death glaring me. He and I share a look and he resists the urge to roll his eyes. 'I just woke up,' he argues as he slaps my shoulders forcefully. 'Good. Again,' I say, impressed with his sudden burst of strength. 'Jamie, you don't want to push it,' She sounds exasperated and I almost feel bad for her. After all, she just wants what is best for him, and she's probably right. But Jamie turns around and starts walking steadily towards her. 'No, Gracie,' he tries to hide his frustration. 'That's exactly what I have to do.' Grace just sighs and gives me a look as if to say, don't push him too hard. She walks out the cabin door and says something about getting more kindling, gesturing off towards the forest. 'Don't go far, Gracie!' I yell after her, because the last thing I want is for her to get hurt.

Jamie and I call it quits after another couple of minutes, because I can tell that he's tiring. I sit down on the porch steps and let out a sigh, thinking about Grace. Then Jamie slowly plops down next to me. 'What's on your mind bro? You all good?' He asks, and its moments like this that I appreciate his friendship the most. 'Yeah I guess. I'm just worried about Grace,' I look up from my hands and straight at him as he chuckles softly. 'Look. I know she's a lot to handle at times with her crazy mood swings but she has been through a lot. She'll be fine,' he says, then adds under his breath. 'I hope,'

'Yeah but it's not just that,' I pursue the subject, 'She wakes up in the middle of the night screaming, and when I get up to comfort her, she's always so distant with me.'. I say sadly, trying to muster some sympathy. But Jamie's head turns rapidly to the direction Grace just disappeared in, after a shrill scream fills the previously silent morning air. 'Do you think she's alright man?' I ask, concern filling my voice more and more quickly by the second. But then, we both look up and see the small white plane flying overhead, circling the coastline, and finally landing on the waves. 'Shit!' Jamie mutters, and Dominic comes running out of the cabin. He starts to tell me to go to Grace, but I'm already half-way there.


	2. THE VISITOR

CHAPTER TWO: THE VISITOR

I sprint towards the clearing, hoping, praying that I'm not too late. I turn right, come around the corner and see Grace gripping a piece of firewood like a baseball bat. I run towards the sand towards her and shout her name. 'Gracie,' She turns around and cringes, obviously not very happy to see me. 'Grace,' I pant, not because I've been running, but because my blood is pounding with terror. 'A plane is circling. We've got to-' I'm interrupted by the look she gives me. Then she slowly turns, and I follow her gaze until I meet the eyes of Alexandra Petrovic. Great! So much for an untraceable whereabouts. 'Alexei,' She looks dangerous, and there is a slightly menacing glint in her eyes, as she glares at first me and then Grace. I don't dare look away as I firmly say, 'Gracie, come over here and get behind me. Now,' As Grace starts to move towards me, the Prime Minister of Adria practically jumps in between us and turns to face me. She starts slowly stepping in my direction while glaring at me, a look that could turn the entirety of the Mediterranean Sea to ice. She gives me a scary, small smile and stops walking. 'Don't be silly young man. I've come a long way to see Grace. Now, who is going to take me to Jamie.

My pulse is pounding, as I lead Grace and PM Petrovic down the steep ravines and through muddy trails. I keep my head down, trying to think of ways to get her out of here. But I can't, so I stay silent and focus on my hand on the small of Grace's back, stopping her from falling over.

We come around the corner of the cabin and I hear the cocking of a gun, and all I want to do is push myself in front of Grace to protect her from whoever Petrovic has stationed behind the weapon. That was until I realised with a start that it was Jamie holding the gun. He has the heavy little shotgun fixed at PM Petrovic and doesn't take his eyes off her. 'What are you doing here?' Jamie says in a low, malicious tone, his voice dripping with anger. 'Hello, James,' The Prime Minister says with a smile. She glances over at Grace. 'My, what a family resemblance,' She is so infuriating! I don't know where it comes from but I just start yelling at her. 'Stop!' I scream as I turn to her, hatred pounding through my veins. How dare she waltz on in here and try to talk to us normally. 'Stop your lying. Stop… Go away. Go back!'

'Alexei,' She starts again. But when I step behind Grace and hold her firmly by the hips, I have made it very clear to this woman that I will not stand by her. I think that the realisation is dawning on her face. So, she tries a new approach, because it is very evident to all of us that she is on a mission, and has no intention of failing it. 'Gentlemen, I need a word with Grace. Alone,' I start to protest but Jamie beats me to it. 'I don't know how you found us, but we're not-' Jamie is cut off by Grace, who had been so quiet since the PM arrived, I had half-forgotten she was even here. 'It's okay.' She says. And for some reason, I agree with her, because if this woman wanted us dead, we would 100% already be just that. So as Grace tells Jamie and I that she's fine, we let her pass and walk into the cabin with the Prime Minister on her heels. Jamie starts pacing up and down the porch and I follow. 'Would you care for some tea?' I hear Grace ask in her most diplomatic voice. I really hope she is thinking of a plan, because I sure as hell haven't got one. I briefly glimpse the Prime Minister smile warmly as she says, 'That would be lovely,' She stays silent as Grace makes her tea and slips it into her hands, and I know it's because Jamie and I are standing in front of the open door. Grace says something, but it is drowned out by my thoughts on how clever my Gracie is. 'That's my girl,' I whisper with a smile. 'What?' Jamie asks quietly, as we step out of the girl's ear and eye-shot. But I don't reply, because Grace and the "visitor" walk out the front door. I just glare at them, trying to mask how proud I am of Gracie's quick thinking.

As the two girls walk towards the trees, Jamie and I walk inside. 'What was that about?' He asks with a slightly worried, slightly bemused expression. 'Who's your girl?' He teases. So, I show him the empty bottle of drugs and he smiles. 'That's my girl,' He whispers.

As Jamie hobbles towards the water plane, I slide my right arm under his shoulders to help him get there more quickly. When we're 10 metres from the plane, Dominic sprints through the freezing, knee-deep water and hauls Jamie into the passenger seat. I run back to the rocky shore as I see the PM slump over on the grass. 'Gracie!' I yell out to her. I stand on the shore in between Grace and the tiny plane and beckon for her to come as the engine starts up. As soon as she reaches me, I hoist her up from the waist and hop into the seat beside her. As the plane climbs into the sky, Dom and Jamie start talking through the headsets over their ears. All I am aware of however, is how close I am to Grace. I can feel the heat radiating off her body. So, I put my arm around her and pull her smoothly onto my lap. As I stroke her hair out of her eyes, she nestles into me and slips her arms around my shoulders. All I want to do is hold her like this forever, but after 20 minutes, she is asleep and I finally decide to break the silence and wake her up. 'Gracie, wake up beautiful. What are we going to do?' She rubs her gorgeous brown eyes and looks up at me, half-asleep and fully stunning. 'I don't know,' and maybe that's why she looks so terrified. These past few weeks she has been the playmaker, the one with all the brilliant plans and ideas. The calm one. And the fact that she is scared adds to all of our anxiety. But we both just sit there, looking out onto the horizon, scanning for somewhere safe to land. But the scary truth is that there's probably no place safe enough.


	3. FORT SILL

CHAPTER THREE: FORT STILL

It's been three days since the Prime Minister's "little visit". Jamie's condition has worsened significantly. But he's not going to get better by getting caught, and that's why we can't stop running. Grace is down to her last straw though. It's obvious to all of us. It's so hard to listen to her scream at Dom and I to stop, crying endlessly when Jamie gets worse but still trying to stay strong for him. All I want to do is hold her and tell her it's okay. I hate seeing her like this with all of my heart, but it's for her that I am doing this.

As I stand under the hood of the car Dominic may've stolen from the Oklahoma State airport, I hear Gracie get out of the car and start arguing with Dom. We need to replace the oil. I duck out from under the hood and find Grace practically screaming. 'He will not be fine!' She yells. She is on the verge of a breakdown and Dominic can tell. This will be the second one in 3 days.

I stand behind her and Dominic sees me. She continues yelling. 'He needs a bed, Dominic. And a shower. And a meal that doesn't come out of a bag. We all do. When was the last time you slept? I mean really slept?' She has a point, but neither of us want to admit it.

'I'll sleep when you're safe.' He says to her, but I can't help but feel as though he's just being stubborn. 'Oh Dominic,' she says as she shakes her head. 'I will never be safe. And that goes double if you collapse or give out on us. We need you. I know you know that. But I'm saying it anyway. We need you at your best. And you're not now. You can't be. It's just not possible. So…' I shrug as if to say, your decision and he glares at me. Grace looks over her shoulder and sees me. I am getting so sick of having to sleep in a rotten old car, I think I saw a hotel around the corner of the gas station, so I shrug. 'I will see about getting us some rooms.' I turn and start walking. Grace calls out to me. 'Stop,' I turn around. 'You're still front-page news.' It's hard to forget what is happening around the world when you shut yourself out. I am a wanted fugitive, but I guess that takes a back seat when two of the people you're on the run with are being hunted down by the Royal Family of Adria. 'Even if no one in their right mind would expect you to run to the US, we probably shouldn't take the chance.' She is 100% right. She turns to Dominic and studies his face. 'And you're… memorable.' She says, and then she holds out her hand expectantly. He gives her one of his many wallets and she spins on me. 'You two stay here. I'll go see about the rooms.'

She walks around the corner and I sigh and walk over to Dominic. 'What are we going to do with that girl?' He asks me. And I am lost for words. 'Alexei, do you know where we are?' he questions, as we walk over to the car. 'No, where?' I have no idea. And Dominic looks like he is in a lot of pain. Not physical, though, emotional. 'We're in Fort Still,' That name rings a bell. I realise with a start that this is where Jamie and Grace lived until Caroline died. I hope Grace knows, because otherwise she is in for a shock. Now this would definitely cause a meltdown. However, Dominic continues. 'Alexei, Grace and Jamie are my number one priorities. I have to keep them safe. But I need a lot of help from you, especially with Grace. For example, if she needs comforting, I need you to be right there next to her, supporting her. If she needs protecting, I need you to throw her out of harm's way. Alexei, you love her. I know you do. And that is why I'm trusting you with her life, don't let me down.'

Woah. Okay. So, this is a lot to digest at the moment but I guess in a way, he's kinda right. I think I do love Grace. No. Correction. I know I love Grace, and I will do anything to protect her, even if it means endangering myself. It means a lot to me that Dom is trusting me with protecting her, but all I can muster up is a simple, pathetic. 'Okay, yeah I will,'

I pop back under the hood to try and check out everything, and see if it's just the oil that needs replacing. Goodness knows it's not. We've got air in the brakes. Lucky Mikhail taught me how to repair cars. Dominic ducks his head under, 'What's going on down there Alexei?'

'We need to replace the oil and we have air in the brakes.' I tell him with a cringe. 'Is that going to cost us much. 'Nah, just a little for the oil. We have oil in our brakes, but I should be able to fix that in about half an hour.' He ducks his head back out and opens the passenger seat door to check on Jamie. He's moaning in his sleep, but Dominic takes no notice and pulls the blanket up over his head. He pulls his head and arms out of the car and leans against it, sighing. He mutters to himself and I can't quite make out what he's saying.

I bleed the brakes to get the air out of them and then go over to the gas station and buy the oil. I carefully tip it into the hole through the funnel and then tighten the cap.

Grace swings the glass door of the motel open and sticks her head out. 'Guys come on, we've got a room.'

I sit in the chair facing the window. I'm keeping watch. But I am so tired, all I want to do is curl up in one of the uncomfortable beds and sleep. But I can't do that, I need to protect Gracie.

I get up and walk through the adjoining door, over to where her bed is. She is just lying there, looking at Jamie. 'Gracie, you alright?' I ask. She looks over at me, 'Uh… yeah,' She is not alright, and we both know it. 'Here, sit down,' she says, patting the bed next to her. She pulls down the covers and jostles over half a metre. I slowly lay down next to her and pull her tightly into my chest. After several minutes, she starts to cry. 'I don't know what to do Alexei!' She says with a heavy sob. 'It's okay Gracie, it's okay.' I try to comfort her but Jamie starts to moan again, and that only makes her cry harder. 'No, Alexei, it isn't. Jamie is getting worse every day, and I can't help him, do you know how that feels.' But I do. When Grace found out that she was the one that killed Caroline, that is exactly how I felt. I couldn't help her, and she would always pretend she was alright, then when I'd visit her during the night, she would scream and scream until she couldn't cry anymore. That was probably the hardest thing I've ever had to endure. But Ambassador Vincent made it very clear that Grace wasn't to know about any of her nightmares, as Dr Rainer, her psychologist said it could bring on those awful flashbacks again.

So now I hold her and tell her 'Gracie, he's getting better, he really is. Slowly, but definitely surely.' I tilt her chin back with my finger so she is looking me right in the eyes. 'Thank you, Alexei,' She whispers as she leans in.

Just before our lips make contact, Jamie gasps for breath and Grace turns to him quickly, jumps out of bed and runs over to him. I sit up quickly as she lets out a sob. I run over to her and kneel down beside his bed. 'Is he okay?' She nods her head 'Gracie, why are you crying?' She wraps her arms around my neck and dissolves into my body. 'Alexei, I can barely feel his pulse.' Aw, the poor thing. 'Hey, hey. Grace,' I force her to look into my eyes. 'Grace, he will get better, now you need to get some sleep. Come on,' I lift her up like a baby and slip her under her covers.

I walk through the door, back into Dom and I's room. I sit down in the armchair near the window and I hear a chuckle. It was coming from Dominic's direction. 'So close…' He says, facing away from me. 'Shut up,' I retaliate, so, I guess Dominic was awake for Grace and I's little conversation. 'Alexei, if you ever plan on getting to 4th base, close the door please. And make sure that Jamie isn't 3 metres away. That'd probably be the smart thing to do.'

'Right, okay.' That was slightly awkward. I

drift off to sleep thinking on how I could get back at Jamie, without physically harming him.

'Alexei, Alexei wake up,' I wake up to the sound of Dominic shouting my name and shaking me violently. 'Alexei, James and Grace are missing, and the car's gone.' I don't think I've ever been more scared in my life. 'What do you mean they're gone.'

'What the hell do you think I mean, they're not in their beds.'

'Well do you know where they are.' I ask, confused at why he isn't having a full-out panic attack, because I certainly am.

'I think I have an idea, come on,' He says, grabbing my arm and dragging me through the door and down the stairs. He starts to run and I follow, a million thoughts rushing through my head at once.


	4. KIDNAPPED

Hi everyone, sorry for not updating earlier but this chapter took a while to write and then we lost our internet all of today. thanks for understanding, hope you enjoy xx

CHAPTER FOUR: KIDNAPPED

Dominic and I sprint down Grace and Jamie's old street, and come to a stop when we reach the Buick. It's out the front of a crumbling, white two-storey building. It was once a beautiful home, I can tell. But now it is decaying. I start down the driveway and come to a stop when I see Grace disappear down a dark hole. I turn back to Dominic, 'Dom, do you think that… that maybe we should just let them, you know, reminisce. I mean, especially Grace, she hasn't been here since… that night.' Dominic bows his head, as if reliving a traumatising moment, and I guess in a way he is. Being back here, where he watched the love of his life get shot by her own daughter must be horrible. 'Alexei, let's go get them, Grace will be very upset if she is seeing what I think she's seeing, so you'd better go get her,' I am confused.

'Wait. What? What would she be upset by, and, why would it be in the basement of her old house?' I ask him, wondering what it could possibly be. Her mother's body wouldn't be buried, there would it? No, she's in Valencia. 'Alexei, Grace's mother, Princess Ann, and your mother I guess, made the connection when they were girls that Amelia lived. However, they were very quick to shove the first one of them they thought it could be onto the throne. Princess Ann. But, Caroline was the true heir.'

'Yeah, I already knew that but what does that have to do with her old basement?'

Alright, forget confused, no I am totally out of it. 'The reason Caroline was killed is because she found out that she was the true descendant of Amelia, and Ann didn't like that. So, when Caroline went to the palace to tell Ann what she'd found, and to find the bodies of the lost Royal Family, Ann ordered the Prime Minister, my boss at the time, to kill her. Being his head of security, I was entrusted with the job. When I came, I had the plan of taking a photo of Caroline "dead" and using that as my proof, I was going to smuggle her across the border and take her into hiding. But I had forgotten about one small complication.'

'Grace' I said.

'Yes, Grace. When she saw me she freaked out, and tried to shoot me, but hit Caroline instead.' He finished his story and I'm still left befuddled.

'I'm sorry Dom, but I still have no idea how this correlates to the basement.'

'The evidence that she found, all of the maps and family trees are displayed in there. Alexei, you should go to her, and try and keep her from getting hurt.' He says, pushing me back down the driveway.

I walk through the burnt shell of a home and see Jamie lying down next to the hole in the floor that Grace jumped down earlier. '-… is that Alexei's mother?' Great. This will be fun, gosh I haven't thought about my mother in weeks. My thoughts are interrupted by Jamie. 'Yeah, that's her, I remember her. Barely. She and mum always used to get together and tell me and Alexei to go play.' He says, and I remember those days. But not her really. I used to think about her every day, but with all that has been going on lately, she had completely slipped my mind. 'What was she like?' Grace asks. What is she doing? Tt's not really her business, but I guess she has a right to be curious. 'I don't know,' Jamie begins, and I know I have to stop before the memories become too painful. 'She was-' I walk around Jamie's body and jump down onto the desk next to Grace. 'Gone. She was gone.' That is the only fact that matters. Not the small acts of kindness she would complete every day. Not the way she would always joke around and have fun, and be supportive and lovely when it mattered. Not how she would always take me out for gelato and sing me to sleep. How she left. How she betrayed me and didn't even say goodbye to her only son.

'I never knew this was down here. I came and… she didn't tell me. I never knew.' Dominic's voice comes from behind Jamie and echoes around the small room. I am again confused. Didn't he just tell me about this. He seemed to know that it was here five minutes ago. But, Grace couldn't know that, she is a smart girl, she would be able to connect the dots. She turns and faces a small shelf in the corner of the room. She has a glassy eyed look as she reaches up and pulls it down, dusting the cobwebs off it. She is doing that flashback thing, but it looks like a happy memory, until abruptly she starts to sob. I hop down off the table and walk over to her, slide my arms over her shoulders and whisper into her ear, 'Are you ready?' She comes back to earth and turns around, her face inches from mine. 'What?' she asks. 'Are you ready?' I repeat. She nods and I guide her over to the table. Then she spins on me with an excited look in her eyes. 'Alexei, if our mums were working together… if your mum was a part of this, then maybe-' I cut her off, she doesn't realise it but she has hit a nerve, after all, it is to my belief that the society were the ones to cause her to leave. 'Maybe Karina's dead? Or maybe she just left me? Which one of those is supposed to make me feel better?' I snap, and instantly feel bad, because Grace just hangs her head a little and stays silent. Dom's voice slices through the tense silence. 'We can't stay here. It's someplace they might expect to find you. We can't stay.' Poor Grace isn't going to leave without a protest. She has just found a whole shrine to her mother, and she isn't planning on leaving any of it here. 'But-' she starts, but is interrupted by Dominic. 'Take it down. Take it all down. We'll bring it with us. We cannot let it be found.' I walk her back over to the wall with all the maps and start to help her peel everything down.

When finally, the wall is empty, we walk back over to the table, and Dominic reaches down to grab her hands, and I grab her waist and push her up. And I pass her all of her mother's things. I push myself up off the table. I can tell Grace is really upset so I slip my arm around her shoulders and walk her to the car.

We sit in the freezing, yet full diner, eating our breakfast. I look down at my empty plate and think about all of the stuff we collected from Caroline's secret room earlier this morning. It's all safely stashed in a bag in the glove compartment of the stolen car. Dominic slides out of the booth we sit in and goes up to the counter to pay the bill. After a few moments of silence, Grace smiles embarrassedly at me. 'You have admirers,' She looks very amused, whereas I am very confused. 'Excuse me?' I look at her, as if to say, what are you on. 'You didn't notice your fan club?' she says with a cute little laugh and a jerk of her head in the direction of three cheerleaders, who I honestly hadn't noticed before. I look down at my plate again and roll my eyes. 'You notice everything, do you really expect me to believe that you didn't see three girls in cheerleading uniforms checking you out?' I glance up at her, 'I do not notice girls, I notice _girl,_ ' I say with a small nod in her direction. Jamie coughs. 'Well, I think that's my cue to excuse myself…' He slides out of the booth from next to her and heads towards the bathroom.

Poor Grace, she watches him with a saddened look on her face. She knows in her heart that he's getting better, but she feels like it's not happening quick enough, and that terrifies her. 'He's not getting better, is he?' she asks me. I guess she doesn't know after all. She looks absolutely petrified of the answer she is expecting from me, so I try and refrain from giving her one for as long as possible. I push my plate away and grab hers from in front of her. After finishing a large mouthful of her pancakes, I look up at her and smile wearily. 'He has the strongest heart of anyone I have ever known. He will recover.' I tell her, hoping to satisfy my role as her comforter. She clenches her teeth together, and it's all she can do not to yell at me I can tell. 'Not if we keep dragging him all over creation. Not if we keep giving him fluids in the back of a car, and not taking him to a doctor when his fever spikes, and… he won't get better like this.'

'Yes.' I piercingly stare at her gorgeous brown eyes, trying not to show any emotion, 'He will. He has to.' She starts to whine, and again, I find myself pitying her, after all, it's not her fault that Dom is too stubborn to fulfil her requests. 'He needs to rest. He needs to stay in one place and rest,' She is starting to get worked up, I can see the tears forming in her eyes. I push away her plate, not hungry anymore. 'We can't stop running, Gracie. You know that. We can never stop running.' I tell her, and I hope she can see that I mean it.

I see her pretty little brain launch into problem solving mode. She bites her fingernails, while considering something. God, she looks so beautiful. But also, so… vulnerable. Like she knows that she's wrong but she's too afraid to admit it. She knows that we can't stop running, but that doesn't mean she likes it. All we need to do is get to Mexico, then we can sort something out. She surprises me by speaking, 'Jamie could stop running, you know…' but I interrupt her, because I have an idea of where this is going, and I'm not loving it. I turn to face the window outside. 'Gracie, we-' Then she cuts me off, and I let her talk. 'He could.' She grabs my shoulder and turns me to face her. 'He could stop if they had something – if they had someone – else to chase.' Uh-uh. Noooo. She is not saying what I think she is, otherwise she is in for one major reality check. I am hurt that she thinks I would let her do that. She means way too much to me, and even thinking about not having her around scares me beyond expression. I sit up straight and lean in closely to her and tell her very firmly. 'Gracie, if you think you can...'

'Hey!' I am interrupted by one of those stupid cheerleaders. She is definitely peppy, I can tell by her voice. But I do not, not for one second glance in her direction. I keep my eyes firmly locked on Grace, who has her eyebrows up and is trying to refrain from using too much sarcasm and rolling her eyes. 'Hi,' Grace says, with a mock enthusiasm. But all the three girls can do is look at me, I can see through my peripheral vision. They don't even acknowledge that Grace has spoken to them. So, I stay silent. 'So, my friends and I were wondering… do we know you?'

All I see through the corner of my eyes is the girl try and push her bust towards me, and I am instantly annoyed. 'Sorry, we're not from around here.' Grace says to her, but still, she acts as if Grace isn't even there. And that makes me even more frustrated with this stupid girl. 'It's just that… You look super familiar, and we thought we'd come say hi. So… hi,' Oh my goodness this girl is getting on my nerves. No shit I look familiar, she's been seeing me on the news as the Russian Fugitive who killed a West Point cadet for two months. She must be so thick. I keep looking at Grace, worried that the realisation might just hit the girl in front of us, which would cause a little bit of a problem. 'He says hi back.' She says looking up at them, and I can't help but admire her patience. Because I know that if I was the one talking, I would've snapped by now.

I see the girl in the middle turn her head to Grace, with a small, smug smile on her face, which turns to an all-out, ear to ear smile. 'I'm Lura. Lura McCraw.' She looks back at me and sighs. 'You really do look familiar you know.' I am trying to resist the urge to hit her, or at least shout at her to stop harassing us. But I can't. Because if they heard my Russian accent, even three dumb high-school girls like themselves could put the pieces together.

'He knows,' Grace tells her, and I am very grateful that she did, even if it was in an annoyed tone. Otherwise, they might've never got the hint. 'Lura, were going to be late,' The most annoying, high-pitched voice I've ever heard cuts through the silence. If Lura can't go away off her own accord, maybe her friend can convince her. She, sighs again, more loudly this time. 'Okay. Well, bye, then. I guess I'll see you around. Nice talking to you.' She flips her long, shiny brown hair and it whips me across the face. As she walks off, she sticks her butt out and smiles at me when she opens the door.

She was one of the most annoying, insensitive and stupid girls I have ever come across. 'Ignore them. They know nothing.' I tell Grace, and I mean it. They haven't seen their best friends blood pooled on the floor of their grandfather's embassy, nor see the person they love hysterical, and having a panic attack. Nor have they had their mothers disappear without a trace without saying goodbye, and then never hearing from them again.

Dominic comes back from the counter and puts his hand on my shoulder. 'Come on guys, let's go.' He says. Grace is still lost in her thoughts so he puts his head close to her eyes. 'Grace Olivia. We must leave.' He says, as he grabs her arm and pulls her out of the booth. She looks a little unsteady, so I go over to her and hold her hand. We walk ahead until suddenly she stops and spins into me, and looks back at Dominic over my shoulder. 'Jamie needs to rest.' She tells him again, as her brother walks out of the bathroom and walks towards us. Dominic rolls his eyes. 'He can rest in the car.'

'Jamie isn't well.' She repeats again. She is so overprotective of him, and in a way, it's kind of adorable, but she also needs to be told to give up. Dominic grabs her out of my grasp and holds her shoulders firmly. 'He will be significantly less well if they find him.' That ought to have done it. Dominic pushes the door open, and as I go to grab her hand again, she quickly follows him through the door and slams it behind her. I can't hear what she is asking, but it looks like she is upset by whatever response Dominic sliding his sunglasses over his eyes and not replying to her is.

She opens the door for me and Jamie, and then walks over to the car in a huff.

It is my turn to do the check up on Jamie tonight. And even though I'm sure that Grace has already compulsively checked his pulse every half-hour, I must still get up anyway. I open Dom and I's door and walk down the long corridor and around the corner to Grace and Jamie's room. The door is slightly ajar, and instantly I open it, very quietly, to find Grace's bed empty again. Shit. I race through their room and go into the bathroom. Empty. Fantastic. What am I going to do? I can't wake Jamie up, because he might die of the fright of waking up at 2:30 in the morning to find his little sister not in her bed. And, well if I woke up Dominic, he would cause a scene and barge through every door of the new motel we found when we arrived in DC. I must try to find her alone.

I see the beam of a military-grade flashlight flash around the corner of the parking lot, and I instantly race down the stairs to follow it. I have no idea what she's doing, but I know that she's not running away. Not if I can help it.

I keep my distance behind her, as I stalk around the deserted streets of Washington DC. Well deserted apart from the lone figure of a beautiful blonde teenage girl 50 meters in front of me. She sits down at a bus stop. Then a woman I didn't see before sits down next to her. In fact, there are about half a dozen men in suits surrounding Grace and the woman.

They start to have a conversation and I inch forwards very slowly. When I am about 30 meters away from them, I see them stand up. 'Go ahead,' I hear Alexandra Petrovic say, and one of her men instantly moves forward and shoves his hand into a pressure point in her neck. A guard bends down and shoves a syringe into her thigh. "It's not personal, Ms. Blakely. But I can't deny, it's fitting.' Grace is immediately rendered unconscious and I sprint towards them and grab her before she hits the ground. But the Prime Minister of Adria just laughs.

'Oh Alexei, let her go. She's coming with us.' I glare at her and launch myself towards her as one of her men rips Grace from my arms and throws her in the back of a big black limousine. Alexandra Petrovic shoves her knee in front of her and it hits me right where it hurts. I stagger back in pain and slam into the limousine. One of her guards grabs me. But I am filled with so much rage. How dare they touch my Gracie. I throw punches and kicks until every single one of them is knocked out cold. The only person left standing is PM Petrovic. 'Well Alexei, I didn't think you had it in you. But sadly, this is a girl's trip. I'll have your girlfriend send a post card. If she can.'

'You bitch.' I growl at her. 'Mark my words, I will find you, and when I do, I will kill you.' I articulate every syllable of the last four words with such venom and hatred. She had just kidnapped the love of my life. But the Prime Minister of Adria just tuts. 'Oh Alexei, those words got you in a lot of trouble before. I'd hate to see such a handsome little boy like you get into anymore strife.' And with that, she gets into the driver's seat of the limo and drives away, waving as she rounds the corner .


	5. WHAT DID YOU SAY?

Hi guys, I have tried to make up for not posting chapter 4 when I promised by posting twice today, so chapter 6 will come later. This chapter took an unexpected turn when I decided it might be fun to introduce my own character, which I probably won't do again... Haha. But anyway, I hope you enjoy, review if you have any ideas or suggestions for how I should approach certain elements of the story xx

CHAPTER FIVE: WHAT DID YOU SAY!?

'Okay, this is bad, this is really, really bad.'

'No shit Sherlock,' I reply to Dominic. Jamie just sits in the armchair, head in his hands. 'This is my fault. This is all my fault.' He mutters over and over again. I walk over to him and pat him on the back. 'Hey, no. Jamie, you can't do this to yourself man. You know what Grace is like, she's always doing stupid stuff like this. She's alright.' I add the last bit more for my own sake then his. Dominic is pacing across the room that Grace and Jamie were sharing, and I plop down on the bed. I can't help but feel like this is partially my fault, If I had intervened sooner, then I would've been able to save her. God, I was so stupid, and it's just cost me my best friend in the world.

It has been three days since Grace went missing. I am depressed. Jamie is depressed. And Dominic is… disappointed. In me. I think like he feels I've failed him, and her. I know I failed her. We sit at the small dining table, in the apartment we rented in Wisconsin. We've hardly spoken in days. All of us silently sit and eat our steaks and mashed potatoes. When at last I finish, I go and sit on my bed, get out my wallet and look at the photo of me and Grace, that Noah and Megan sneakily took without either of us knowing, splashing around near the waterfall Jamie and I discovered.

I never cry, my eyes just water a little when I think of my mother, and now when I think of Gracie. I can't help but blame myself for what happened to her. She's not dead, I can feel it in my bones. But I find myself acting like she is, because I feel dead without her.

I haven't slept since the night she was kidnapped. And tonight's dinner was the only meal I've eaten since then. She was my world, my everything, I can't believe I let them take her. What came over me? All I can think about as I lie awake at night is her gorgeous smile, and the stunning way she would accidentally flick her hair, then try to cover it up with a cough. God, I miss her so much.

What if I never see her again? What if she never sees her grandfather or her father, or her brother ever again. It would be my fault. Why do I always have to push away the people I love. My mother and now my Gracie. I never got to tell her I love her. Or kiss her beautiful lips. I can feel myself tearing up, as I hold her photo, she's smiling. The time this was taken was one of the only days she was genuinely happy.

'Alexei, Jamie, get your asses over here. Now,' Dominic yells from the bathroom. I run to the armchair where Jamie is still sitting and help him up. We both walk over to the bathroom quickly, hoping that he has found out something to do with Grace. But I don't dare get my hopes up. 'Alexei, go get your girlfriend. She's alive and well, and has been on a little vacation to Paris.' How he knows that we don't ask, we just both let out a huge sigh of relief and Jamie pulls me into a bro hug. Wait, Grace is in Paris. I know that the society has headquarters in Paris, maybe that's where Petrovic took her.

But Jamie's thoughts are otherwise occupied. 'What did you say!? Wait, Alexei, you're not dating her, are you? How did I miss that?' He roars. Great. If this is how he's going to react if we ever do start dating, how am I ever going to sleep at night without pissing my pants, worried that he'll break into my room and kill me. He throws me a murderous glare and I turn to Dominic. He chuckles 'Relax, James. I was joking.'

'Right, well. I guess I'm not really used to you cracking jokes Dom. Maybe smile when you do it.' He laughs, the first time I have heard him do it in forever. It's a very comforting sound, knowing that someday, it might all be better.

Dominic and Jamie drop me off at the airport and I board my flight to Paris. The man I am sitting next to seems nice, he buys me a soda and we have a little chat about American sports, which was a bit of a struggle for me, but nevertheless was interesting, and left him very amused. After a while however, he dozes off. I decide it might be nice to take a nap too, until the girl next to me tapped me on the shoulder and smiles. 'Hi Alexei, long-time no see.'

Fae Lesli. My ex. The only girl I ever dated. Ever. And the only reason was because we were in grade ten and I was trying to get Lila off my back. In the end though, I ended up liking her. I broke up with her after I caught her cheating though. I wasn't upset at all, because two weeks after it happened, Grace came back for the summer. So… This will be fun. 'Fae, hi. It's good to see you.' She pulls me into a hug and kisses me on the cheek. 'You too babe.' I need to establish that I am NOT, her "babe". 'Fae, would you like to see a picture of my girlfriend?' Well a little white lie never harmed anybody.

Anyway, it's nice to imagine it. I am going to have some fun for the next four hours. 'Oh, you're dating someone?' She looks a bit disappointed. I have two baby pictures in my wallet. One of me, and a funny one Jamie once showed me of Grace as a toddler. It's not creepy that I have it… is it? 'Yeah, and these are our two kids. A little boy named… Liam, and a girl called, uh, Amelia.' Okay, that was borderline creepy. I had had a couple of dreams about our future, and it is kinda fun to tell Fae and see her reactions. 'Oh. Wait, so, you're like those teen parents?'

'Uh, yeah we are.' I tell her

Maybe this little white lie is getting me a tad carried away. Oh, well. This is really fun to play with her like she played with me. 'Alexei, I just want you to know that I'm really sorry for what I did. It was stupid of me to cheat on you, but I was 15, and I regret it every day of my life.' Well that conversation took an unexpected turn. So, I avoid the topic all together. 'So, what brings you to Paris?'

'Well, actually, I am modelling in a runway show for Luis Vuitton.' Of course, she is. She is a striking looking girl. But even with her silky golden hair and perfect white teeth, she doesn't possess close to a quarter of the beauty Grace does.

'Alexei,' she sighs, and she grabs the side of my head, pulls her closer to her, and basically shoves her tongue into my mouth. I push her away with so much force that she nearly knocks the person next to her out of their seat. She whispers her apologies to them and turns to me, pouting and trying to be sexy. 'What the hell are you thinking Fae? Get away from me you creep!' I yell at her, and people's heads turn our way. She starts crying and runs off into the bathroom.

Oh, my goodness. What would Grace think if she knew about this? She would kill me. She would never want to speak to me ever again! But technically, I wasn't the one that started the kiss, and I certainly didn't enjoy it. Not one bit. Jamie would totally kick my ass if he found out about this. And that is why I vow to never ever tell a soul.

Why am I making such a big deal out of this? It's not like I cheated on Grace. Is it? No. It definitely isn't. I let myself doze off, thinking about Grace, and how beautiful she is, and what I'm going to say to her if I ever find her, and if she ever forgives me for letting her go.

I walk through the busy streets of Paris, letting intuition guide me to Grace. But I only need to use intuition for half an hour, because as I come around the corner near a huge bridge, I see Grace start bolting away from… is that Princess Ann? Two men with bulging biceps run towards her, at the same time as a woman, and another man start towards her, hitting and kicking and groaning as she this them back, twice as hard. That's my Gracie!

But I am not going to wait until it's too late this time, I sprint across the bridge, punching and kicking and clawing my way through the men and woman. I punch and kick them, spinning around and knocking them aside, because they dared to try and harm my girl. 'Gracie!' I yell, as I push one of the men over the bridge and into the river. I am almost to her, and I yell out 'Come on,' I reach her and pull her into the world's tightest hug. We pull apart as the lady comes up behind her, and I punch her straight in the nose. I grab Grace's hand and pull her away from the guards quickly advancing towards us. 'Come on,' I yell turning away from her and tugging her hand again. But she spins me back to face her. 'What are you doing here?'

She asks me like I'm the insane one. Does she really think I wouldn't try and save her? But I have no time to ask. Slightly offended and fully exasperated, I ask, 'What do you think I'm doing here?' But we're running out of time, and I do not want to argue with her. 'Come on!' I shout, with more urgency than ever. 'No,' she says, pulling her hand away from mine. What the hell is she thinking. She is going to get herself killed. 'Grace, we've got to get you out of here!' I shout, trying to grab her hand again. But she lets her hand slip out.

The guards are getting so close now. But I just stand there dumbfounded. Maybe she hates me for letting her go. Or maybe she really is crazy. But no matter what, I am not going to lose her again. 'Grace!' I yell, almost ready to pounce on her and pull her out of harm's way at any cost. She slowly lifts her land and pushes it towards me. 'Do you trust me?' That came totally out of the blue. I am so shocked that she would believe anything contrary of that, that I have to process it. But she's also Jamie's sister, so I have to protect her, so with no more hesitation, I grab her hand as soon as she shakes it.

She pulls me up onto the railing and we are so high up right now, and it's probably not the best time to mention my severe phobia of heights. But I am totally distracted by her being so close to me. I look down into those striking brown eyes, for what may be the last time. She looks up at me and we share an unblinking look, that is making me sort of weak at the knees.

I don't know what comes over her, but she brings her free hand up and weaves it through my hair, as she pulls me close and kisses me, with such passion and warmth, that I can't help but feel like we are meant to be together, and that maybe, just maybe she loves me too. We stand there kissing, for what seems like an eternity. We may never get off this bridge. We might die in Paris. Right here. Right now. But we will die together, and for that, I will always treasure my Gracie. When at last we pull apart, I look down at her, totally confused, but hopeful, that maybe one day, we will be able to kiss without being hunted down like rabid dogs. I am so happy that this has finally happened, and I didn't feel like this at all with Fae on the plane.

But I can see the guards moving, about 10 meters away from us, and people are yelling and shouting in French. Grace looks down at the water and drops my hand. My eyes widen, confused as to what on earth she is doing. 'Thank you,' she whispers sweetly in my ear. And with that, she freefalls down onto some sort of German-looking tourist bus. A guard comes up behind me, so I instantly follow.

We roll from the upper deck, down the roof, dangle for a second and then drop onto the deck below. 'What was that!?' I scream. As the tourists flee from the area we landed in. 'That was my plan,' I can't believe my ears or eyes as I look up and see Rosemarie standing on the deck. 'And it worked. I'll have you know my plans always work.'

Rosie looks very, very proud of herself. But I am absolutely gobsmacked. What the hell is she doing here? Not that I'm not grateful for her rescuing us, but that doesn't mean I'm not confused. 'OK we're clear,' she says, and she sounds like a little spy. I try to remain as calm as possible a, as I ask, 'Rosie, what are you-'

'Well hello stranger,' I hear a very familiar voice behind me, spin quickly and come face-to-face with Noah, who is leaning against the railing. 'Enjoying Paris?'

This is unbelievable! He speaks as if we have just casually bumped into each other, by some bizarre coincidence. I look at him with my eyebrows raised, but he just grins at me. 'О, ради бога.' I mutter, the Russian equivalent of 'Oh for god's sake.' I turn to Grace, glaring at her. She has some explaining to do. But she just waves her hand lazily as if to say "Yeah, hold on, I'll get to that," She turns to Noah, 'Did we get it?' She asks, with her eyebrows furrowed. Get what!? I feel like yelling, this is so frustrating and I am soooo confused. He shrugs, 'There's one way to know,' He and Rosie start towards the stairs leading to the lower decks. I grab Grace's hips and turn her to face me, with my eyebrows raised. She leans up, and for a second, I think she is going to kiss me again, but she just whispers into my ear, 'Come on,' She taps my butt, pulls away and winks. She starts down the stairs, and I follow her, with every intension of finding out what is going on. When we reach the boat's tiny café, I'm not the least bit surprised to find Megan sitting alone at a large table, her fingers flying across the keys of her laptop. But I am still so out of the loop, and I'm not enjoying it. 'We were right,' Grace says sadly, looking at Megan. Megan barely glances up, and keeps her eyes focused on whatever she is typing so rapidly. Noah stands on the side of the boat, and looks out of one of the high windows, that is almost at water level. 'Grace, what are the odds they are going to follow us?' he asks nervously. I turn to face him, 'Very, very good,' I tell them, I am trying so hard to keep my anger under control, but it's not proven effective so far. 'Did you get it?' Grace asks Megan again, more impatiently this time. She sounds terrified. Megan looks up at her grimly and pulls the earphones out of her computer. As soon as she does, Princess Ann's voice cuts through the tense silence. ' _Grace, do you really think_ the royal family _would try to harm you?_ ' There is a pause, then you hear her yell ' _Get her!_ ' Grace takes a deep breath and sits down, she is deep in thought, but I stand behind her and massage her shoulders, hoping to release some of her worries. Poor Grace trusted that woman, and though I still basically have no idea what has happened in the last hour, I am happy that my Gracie is safe. 


	6. EXPLAINING

Hi everyone. I am so, so sorry that I didn't upload this chapter last night, but my little sister was performing at Christmas Carols in front of like 2000 people and really wanted me to be there. This chapter took a lot longer to upload as well because today one of our pipes in my bathroom burst and we've had a pretty hectic day. I think I will try my best to upload daily, but School is pretty intense at the moment, because I am having my final exams this week, so if a chapter's a day or two late, I'm really, really sorry, but please keep reading and enjoying. There is a little bit of Gralexei going on this chapter... Please enjoy!

\- Ella xx

CHAPTER SIX: EXPLAINING

We sit on the train, zooming through the French Country side. Grace is sitting on my lap, and she is sleeping. It is sunset, and the last burst of light from the sun today is making the beautiful scenery practically glow in the golden light. Grace jostles in my lap, she is getting restless. She sharply inhales and turns to face me, eyes open slightly, she looks like she is going to cry.

'Shhh, Shhh. It's okay Gracie, sleep my beautiful girl.' She tucks her head into the crook of my neck and drifts back off to sleep.

I stroke her hair behind her ear and hug her tightly into my body. Megan comes over to the booth we're sitting in. She is trying to resist smiling, so I just look at her blankly, and wait until she cracks. After a minute or two, she can't take it anymore,

'OMG, you totally like her. Alexei, please tell me you guys are like, a thing. I've been waiting for so long. Is it finally happening?' She bombards me with questions. I smile at her.

'Yes, I like Grace,' This is all I give her, and it's hilarious.

'Alexei, you can't do this to me, tell me, PLEASE! HAVE YOU KISSED HER' I chuckle and look at her. 'OMG! You have totally kissed her. Wait till Rosie finds out. Hold on, you did kiss her right?'

'I do not kiss and tell,' I tell her with a smile and roll of my eyes.

'So that means you did kiss her! Yay, finally. Noa-'

I shush her, 'I don't want everyone to know just yet, and neither does Grace, I don't think. So maybe keep it on the low and I promise, when we're ready you can tell them,'

'Okay.' She is basically squirming with excitement. 'Alright, I'm gonna go get her something to drink, do you want anything?' She asks.

'Nah, I'm all good,' I look down at Grace. She is hugging my neck and pulling herself closer to me. I kiss her forehead and whisper into her ear. 'One day it will be alright Gracie. One day it will all be better, I promise,'

Megan comes back with a hot cup of tea in her hands, and when she sees me whisper to Grace, she nearly spills the tea all over herself and Grace. I wake Grace up with a playful pinch and Megan slides the tea into her hands. I lift her off my lap and put her down on the chair next to me.

I walk over to where Noah is sitting talking to Rosie. 'Hey Rose, do you wanna go over to the girls, I need to talk to Noah for a sec,' I need to find out what they're doing here.

'Oh okay,' She says and bounces off to the other end of the train.

'Hey Alexei, is everything alright?' Noah asks me. I ponder for a while, choosing my words very carefully.

'Noah, what are you… uh, how did you… What the hell is going on?' He laughs and looks over at Megan.

'Well, Megan was spending the night at my place,' Woah okay… I need to clarify this.

'Hold on, with you or Lila?' I ask.

'Some questions are best left unanswered,' he says with a sheepish smile. And I start laughing.

'Well, congrats man,' I tell him, teasing.

'Yeah, yeah okay. So, what did you… Right. Okay. So, Megan was at my place and she got a call from Grace at like 2am. I didn't hear what the conversation involved, but next thing I knew, we were on a flight to Paris, and Megan and Rosie kept their heads together talking in low voices the whole way. The only piece of information I know is that they were trying to see if Grace could trust Ann.' He finishes and takes a big, over exaggerated breath. So, that recording shows that Ann really is trying to kill Grace and Jamie.

This is a lot for me to digest at the moment, so I suggest that we go back over to the girls.

'Are we really not going to talk about this?' Megan asks Grace, and I think she knew it was coming. I slide into the booth and put my arm around Grace's shoulders. She nestles into my body and Megan nearly wets her pants, but remains silent.

'Talk about what?' Rosie questions me, and I shrug my shoulders, because I have no idea either. Grace stares out the window, and she and share a look in their reflections. He looks hurt, and she looks guilty. He turns to face us all.

'You disappeared Grace,' He tells her, and he looks angry. No, not angry, disappointed. She hangs her head and then looks up at him.

'I know,' He runs his hand through his hair and then starts towards the table.

'Seven weeks. Seven weeks! Do you know how long that is?' He asks her, vibrating with rage. She looks up at him and rolls her eyes.

'Yes. It's just longer than six weeks – not quite as long as eight.' He slides into the seat across from her and stares at her. He is soooo angry.

'Do you know how long it is when you have no idea if you _best friend_ is dead or alive?'

She just sighs and throws her hands up in the air, resting them behind her head. She deeply inhales and then looks at him, trying to make him see. What? I have no idea.

'I'm sorry, Noah. We couldn't tell anyone. We-' Cool, she has included me. Yay. I can tell it was accidental, but that doesn't mean it's not annoying.

'We?' He asks her.

'Yes. We' she glances up at me and I look down at her, our eyes meet and she gasps. She whispers, 'Shit, sorry!'

'Maldito inferno' Noah says. I don't exactly know what it means, but I'm pretty sure it's very dirty and he would get into a lot of trouble if Megan knew what it meant.

He gets up quickly and runs his fingers through his hair again. He is pacing down the aisle of the train and swearing under his breath. Grace moves over across my body and grabs his hand as he walks past her.

'Noah,' She looks into his eyes, 'We had to leave. No that's not quite true. Jamie and Alexei and I, we had to _run_ …' Her voice breaks, and she is nearly crying, just thinking about Jamie. Her hands are shaking, I pry them out of Noah's grip, grab them and hold them in my own. Noah turns around slowly and looks at us.

'Why?' He holds her gaze until she turns away and looks up at me.

We have a silent conversation, I don't know if she's ready to tell them, and that's what I'm trying to say when I stroke her cheek and look down at her, concern filling my eyes. She nods at me and I hold her waist tightly, the gesture telling her that I am here for her, no matter what.

'He kinda has a point Grace,' Rosie points out, knowing that she is about to argue. 'You disappear for weeks and then call Megan out of the blue and the next thing we know you're acting like James Bond and having secret meetings with princesses. Not to mention that none of the stuff that Ann said on that recording made any sense.' Grace looks at me again, so I answer for her.

'It makes sense. I mean, it _will_ make sense.' I try to explain, but I am met with three very confused looks.

'Grace, what happened?' Megan asks her, and she looks really worried. 'I mean, one moment we were all at the bonfire and then you were _gone_. You never came back to the embassy. Your Grandfather and Ms. Chancellor wouldn't even say your name. What happened that night?' Grace takes a deep breath in and I massage her shoulders.

'The Night of a Thousand Amelias?' She asks, and Megan nods her head, as if saying, "well obviously" Grace turns to the dark glass surrounding us all.

I pull her tightly into me, because I know that this will cause her a lot of pain to think about. 'They stabbed Jamie.' She says, and her voice cracks again, and she starts to rock a little. I tighten my grip on her arm to steady her. Megan looks shocked and lost for words, but when I put my arms around Grace, she visibly sighs and looks at Noah, rolls her eyes and looks back at me and smiles cheekily.

'What?' Noah basically jumps back into the seat across from Grace. And she looks at him solemnly. She grimaces a little.

'That night. Outside the palace. Remember, you and Megan saw me, and we got separated somehow. It was so loud and crowded and… smoky. There was so much smoke. I hate the smell of smoke. I always have, ever since…' She drifts off, to one of her flashbacks. But I am so desperate to pull her back, I just grab her face in between my hands and say, 'Gracie, breath. stay with me,' She nods and breathes for a while.

'I hate the smell of smoke,' she says again. But there I was. At the bonfire. And then I saw Jamie. But at first, I didn't think that it _was_ Jamie. I thought it was Spence. Or Spence's ghost.' She gives a small nervous laugh and looks at them all. 'See? Told you I was crazy.'

Rosie reaches across the table and grabs her hands, 'You're not crazy,' She says sweetly, and Grace smiles.

'Thanks. Anyway, I saw someone who looked just like Spence, walking through the smoke and the firelight. You know how all the men were wearing masks and the women all had on those white dresses? It was…'

'Creepy,' Rosie finishes for her, 'It was incredibly creepy,'

Grace continues. 'Yeah. But I thought I was seeing Spence, and then when he got closer and took off his mask, I realised it was Jamie. And that's when it occurred to me that if _I_ thought Jamie, was Spence, then maybe-'

'Spence's killer thought Spence was Jamie,' Megan says, and Grace nods. 'Exactly,' She says. For a few minutes, we all sit there, all lost in our thoughts. Everyone is evidently thinking about what Grace has just told them, but all I am thinking about is our kiss. I was so magical and spur of the moment. It was so perfect, because I had no idea if she liked me back. Next time though, hopefully it won't be as urgent.

'Grace…' Noah says eventually, and looks at her expectantly. She sits there and thinks for a long time. She opens her mouth, closes it, and opens it again.

'They stabbed him. They stabbed Jamie. I mean, one minute I was trying to tell him that he looked like Spence and that maybe someone had confused the two of them – that maybe someone wanted _him_ dead. And Jamie was looking at me like – he was looking at me like I was the world's most screwed-up little sister, and then…' She trails off and looks out the window.

I need to help her keep her anxiety at bay, 'Jamie's fine,' I say. She turns around and looks at me, she seems annoyed.

She rolls her eyes and looks at everyone. 'Jamie is _not_ fine.' She looks at me and raises her eyebrows and when I say nothing she shakes her head and moves away from me.

So, I choose my next words very carefully. 'Jamie is recovering. He will be fine.' I tell her forcefully, making myself sound so certain, but the thing is, I'm the farthest thing from it. She just turns away from me, and I have no idea what I've done wrong, but I understand that she is going through a difficult time.

'At first, I thought maybe he'd been shot. Except I didn't hear a shot. I didn't see anyone stab him, either, but… There was so much blood,' She shakes and I move closer to her slowly and she crumbles and falls into my torso. "Alexei found us then, and he helped me carry Jamie to the palace.'

Noah opens his mouth. 'You took your bleeding brother to the palace?'

Grace nods and shrugs, 'Ann was our mum's friend. I'd just been to see her, to ask her if she knew what my mum was working on when she died.' She finishes. Megan looks at her, thinking and then she shakes her head and slaps her forehead.

'So, you were with Ann and then a few minutes later, someone tried to kill your brother?'

Grace sighs. 'Yes,' She says, and I can tell that she is getting frustrated with herself. She is realising that maybe what she did wasn't very smart. And she is 100% right.

'And then you took your almost-dying brother back to the palace?' She questions and Grace finally snaps.

'Yes!' Poor Grace looks like she is about to cry. 'It was dark and the streets were so crowded. I didn't know who'd hurt him. I didn't know what to do, so Alexei helped me carry him to the palace.'

Rosie furrows her eyebrows and looks confused. 'How did you get out?' she asks, 'I mean, if the Royal Family wants you both dead and all.'

'Dominic,' Grace tells everyone. 'He told the guards he was there to arrest Alexei, and then he dragged the three of us out of the palace and back to the embassy. Grandpa called in a favour from a General he knows and he sent a helicopter to get us. They flew us to an army hospital in Germany and rushed Jamie into surgery. He lived. Barely. And as soon as he could be moved, Dominic took the three of us on the run.' She finishes and looks at me, smiles weakly and squeezes my hand.

'Took you where?' Megan asks.

Grace shrugs after we share a look. 'Everywhere,' She says. 'We kept moving. But Jamie wasn't getting better. Jamie was never going to get better if they kept chasing us, so I…'

It is my turn to question her. 'So, you what?' I ask her and look down at her.

She stares me down. 'So, I gave them someone else to chase.' She doesn't look sorry, she just looks annoyed that I found her, frustrated that I managed to save her. And that honestly breaks my heart.

'Grace,' Noah asks, he doesn't look mad, just confused as he says, ' _Why?_ ' I think she should answer him, because honestly, he has been through so much emotional pain. I can't imagine not knowing if Jamie is dead or alive for that long. But she just looks at me. What does she expect me to say? But when she looks at me like that, I am totally under her control. So, I turn to the group, who are looking at me expectantly.

'Uhh. How familiar are you all with the story of the lost princess of Adria?' I say, and Rosie laughs and covers it up with a small cough when I look at her.

'Yes Rosie?' I ask, baiting her.

'Oh, well, umm, it's just not that often that, boys of your age and physical appearance are obsessed with fairy tales and princesses,' She laughs and I smile at her and continue, However, Megan actually seems interested in what I am about to tell them.

'You mean the baby? Amelia? The one who was killed in the coup?' She asks me. I get up and stand at the head of the table that is in the middle of the booth we're sitting at.

'She wasn't killed,' I tell them, and Rosie jumps to her feet and nearly knocks Megan out the open window.

'Awesome!' She yells, 'I mean. It's true? Really? Because I've been calling that for weeks, haven't I? I mean, that has always been my own personal theory.' But Noah isn't quite as excited. He looks at me and shakes his head.

'No, that's crazy,' he says, raising his eyebrows and looking at me.

'Yeah, it's true,' Grace says, as she puts her hand on my leg and rubs it. 'A nurse smuggles Amelia out of the palace, and then the society hid her among their own babies. Some society member took her home that night and raised her. No one ever knew which baby girl she was. They just brought her home and kept her safe until she grew up and had a kid of her own. And then that kid had a kid. And so on and so on, and then my mum…' She takes a deep breath and I squeeze her hand and smile down at her. 'My mum found out that she was one of those kids. My mum was Amelia's direct descendant. I am Amelia's descendant.' Rosie opens her mouth and has the most mischievous look in her eyes.

'So, you're a…' Grace smiles at her,

'Yes, Rosie, I am a princess.' Noah bursts out laughing and Rosie gives a loud cackle, even Megan can't stop herself from laughing. Then Grace and I share a look, all of the worry and pressure that we've had controlling us these past weeks disappears, and laughter uncontrollably flows out of both of us. We both have tears rolling down our cheeks. There's that gorgeous Gracie smile and laugh that I've missed so much. Noah takes a deep breath and he is trying to stop so he can talk, but he doubles over again. Megan whacks his back as he starts choking and he takes another deep breath.

'Do I need to bow?' He asks, looking at Grace, who is holding her stomach. 'I really think I should bow. He goes to get out of his seat and Grace grabs his hand glaring.

'If you get out of that seat, I'm going to kick you really, really hard,'

'Fine, Your Highness.' He replies, and just like that we all stop laughing and the fact sinks in. Megan and Noah look very deep in thought, and Rosie breaks the silence.

'So, the Royal Family tried to kill Jamie, right?' We all turn to Grace and she takes a deep breath.

'I think so. I mean… probably. It's just…' I slide back into the chair next to her and cup my hands around her face.

'What is it Gracie?' I ask her, concerned she is going to get worked up again.

'The Society,' She says.

'What about them?' Megan asks, and she sounds really scared. But like she was expecting that they might have something to do with it.

'When I was with the Council of Elders, I thought they might help. They're the ones who saved Amelia after all. But they didn't want to help. In fact, they seemed to think that my existence – that Jamie's existence – might severely threaten the stability of Europe. And they are _very_ committed to a stable Europe.'

'So, you think the Society might want you dead too?' He asks her, and she nods. This makes it so much worse. I'm never going to let my Gracie out of my sight again.

Rosie cheerfully interrupts. 'So, long story short, there are a whole lot of people who might want you dead,' Wow, she definitely knows how to bring the joy into the delivery of news that one of her best friends is being hunted down by the most powerful collection of women in all of Europe plus a whole Royal Family. But we're all focused on Megan, she is biting her lips and she looks lost in thoughts. Grace is immediately worried by her silence. Not the fact that she's not speaking, but we can all sense that something is not right, and it is making me very uncomfortable, because if there's one thing I know, silence like this coming from one of the most intelligent 16 year olds in a whole country isn't indicating a positive outcome from the conversation.

'What?' Grace asks her as she turns to face her.

'That explains it,' Megan whispers. She looks both scared shitless, and like she has just uncovered the big answer to all of her problems. 'Explains what?' Grace presses, and she sounds really nervous. 'The embassy. That night, the Night of a Thousand Amelias… the embassy was crazy. No one would tell me why, but it was obvious something had happened. My mum wouldn't let me near the residence, but everything was insane. I've never seen the marines like that. It was like a war zone.' Grace pauses for a second, like she is finally realising something. 'What is it like now? How is it different?' She asks. This is something she needs to know. She has spent nearly 2 months without any new on how her Grandfather and Ms. Chancellor are, and this is the moment she finds out if they're okay. Megan shakes her head slowly, as if trying to find the words to describe it. 'I don't know. It just is. I mean, for one thing, Ms. Chancellor is never around. At least, I haven't seen her. I think she might be gone. Moved. Transferred or something. I don't know. And there are way more guards posted. My mum has been working like crazy. I tried to snoop around and figure out what's up, but they're using next-gen encryption, and protocols like I've never seen. I do know that your Grandpa brought in a bunch of security experts to revamp the cameras and gates and fences and everything. The passage that opens up into the basement? That's long gone. They put up wire around the walls! Oh, and all the Adrian citizens who work at the embassy? They're gone.'

Grace raises her eyebrows. 'What do you mean, gone?' She asks, looking confused.

'I mean fired. Or farmed out, given jobs at other embassies on the row. Replaced. No one gets in unless they're a US citizen who has been through all kinds of CIA background checks and/or is on a very short leash.' Megan takes a breath and looks up at Grace. She looks very sad, and reluctant to give her whatever news she is about to dish out. 'The place you left, Grace? The building where your mum grew up and you spent your summers when you were little? It's not an embassy anymore.' She looks Grace right in the eyes and whispers, 'It's a fortress.'


	7. REMEMBERING

Sorry everyone, I seem to be having a bit of a format issue. If the text is bunched up for you guys too, could you please review or PM me ASAP so that I can fix it? Thanks x

-Ella

CHAPTER SEVEN: REMEMBERING

Grace is rocking. So, I wrap my arms around her and whisper in her ears. Poor Grace, that embassy is her home. She must be so scared, knowing that the whole Embassy has to be protected because of her. She is curled up in a ball, and she looks so adorable. But now is not the time to admire her. I need to be here for her, be the rock she can lean on. She starts speaking out of the blue, and looks up at me.

'So . . . someone is trying to kill me. And Jamie. They want – no, they _need_ – us dead. We're a threat. And as long as we live . . . as long as our entire bloodline lives, we will always be a threat.' She stops shaking and moves away from me, as if by touching me, she automatically endangers me too. But the thing she doesn't understand is that I don't care what lengths I have to go to keep her safe. I don't care if I get hurt, as long as she doesn't. So, I grab her, lift her up onto my lap and stroke her back.

'But Grace . . .,' Rosie begins, and she seems completely lost for what to say. 'Do you _want_ to be a princess?' Grace gives a small laugh, as if she can't believe that this is her reality now, that people ask her that question and expect a serious answer.

'No, Ro, I most certainly do not _want_ to be a princess.' She gives a small, weak smile up at me and I kiss her cheek softly.

'Well, maybe is you explain that to everyone,' Rosie is trying to make Grace see the sense in what she is saying, but I already know what she is getting at, and unfortunately, it's not happening. 'Maybe if you just tell them, then maybe . . .' But Grace shakes her head and opens her mouth. But Megan beats her to it. 'It doesn't work that way,' She says. 'Yeah, they're never going to believe me,' Grace says looking at Rosie, but it's Megan's turn to shake her head. 'No, Grace. You don't understand. Adrian law won't allow it.' Megan gets her laptop out of her bag, and gets Noah to go and get the Wi-Fi password. When he comes back with it, we all sit quietly for at least a minute, while her fingers fly across the keyboard. She spins the laptop around as she says, 'I'm talking about this.' It's some sort of website, with all stuff to do with Adrian History, but specifically stuff relating to the government and politics. 'After the War of the Fortnight, all kinds of people still believed that Amelia was alive. Or maybe they just hoped she was. Anyway, it was a rumour for a long time.' She says, and all of us look at her like she's crazy. I have no idea what she's on about, but I just listen, hoping someone else will question her. Of-course it's Noah. 'Ok,' Noah says sarcastically. Megan rolls her eyes. 'Think about it. The country had just been through a _war_. A bloody, bitter revolution. Adria was fractured and broken. And they needed to move on. They brokered the peace treaty under the condition that the dead king's brother would assume the throne, but that there would also be a new parliament. Peace depended upon that. But there were still all these whispers – all these theories – that Amelia was alive, and as much as half the country wanted the war to be over, the other half didn't want Amelia's throne taken away from her if she was still alive – that if she really did survive, they owed it to her to keep her throne intact.' 'So?' Rosie says. Trust her to interrupt right when the big reveal is coming. 'Amelia was never out on the throne. And then, presumably, she died. Unless she became a vampire. Did she become a vampire?' Megan resists the urge to roll her eyes. 'No,' She says simply. 'But they wrote the constitution as if someday she might come back, and–' Megan turns her laptop back to face her and Rosie leans over her shoulder trying to read as well. '"In the event that out lost Amelia should be found, she _or her heirs_ shall return to the throne of the country that is rightfully theirs."' So that means that Grace and Jamie should be on the throne instead of the whole current royal family. Woah, that is some deep stuff. I can nearly feel Grace's thoughts racing through her head, the poor thing. She is probably so overwhelmed right now. I squeeze her shoulder gently and she lays her head back onto my shoulder. 'Don't you see?' Megan seems very frustrated that we aren't quite grasping whatever she is getting at. But I kinda do. 'If Amelia had returned – if her _heirs_ return – then it all goes away. The Prime Minister.' Good. It would be great if we could get rid of that crazy bitch. 'Parliament. Not to mention the current King. All gone. Amelia's heirs – that's you, Grace. That's Jamie – would reclaim the throne and then Adria would, by law, revert to the government it had before the coup.' Grace looks at her, and Megan raises her eyebrows. When Grace starts to speak, Megan sighs. 'That can't be right,' She shakes her head, and Megan just puts her head in her hands, as if she needs to say something that she really doesn't want to say. Grace goes on, 'They wouldn't have written the constitution to a country like that. Not to pacify some crazy conspiracy theories.' She says as if that makes everything better. 'But they weren't crazy, were they.' Noah says, and Grace exhales deeply, looks up at me, disbelief etched on her face. She has been defeated. And she knows it. 'It's in the constitution,' She says, and she retreats further into me. She puts her head in my lap and swings her feet onto the chair next to the one she had just occupied. Megan looks up from her hands and rests her chin upon them. She looks at Grace sadly. 'I'm not saying the Society is right, Grace. But according to this, Jamie doesn't have a choice.' She says, and Grace sits up and looks out the window, then she starts to sway. 'Grace?' I ask her as she plops into my lap. I pinch her thigh to try and wake her up, and for a second I panic, like maybe someone has shot her from outside the train. But that is ridiculous, she has just fainted. Which I totally understand. Megan basically just delivered the news that, like it or not, she needs to sit on the throne of a vitally important European country.

. . .

Grace eventually comes to, and when she does, everyone leaves the carriage, winking and giving the thumbs up, Noah even wolf-whistles. And I hate them for it. I flip the bird just as Grace opens her eyes. She looks at me for a moment and then runs her fingers through my hair. 'You should probably wear a hat or something.' She says, and I nearly laugh, until I realise how right she is. I am still a wanted man. The world – especially the media – still think that I killed Spence. And now I'm back in Europe, but it's for Grace, and there is nothing I wouldn't risk to be with her and protect her. But she looks at me, absolutely terrified. 'You need to go back, Alexei!' This is unbelievable, I don't care if I get locked up and thrown away, as long as Grace is far out of the reach of Princess Ann and the Society. So, I say, exasperated. ' _I_ need to go back?' I ask her, as if she has just suggested I get married to Lila. She leans closer, there is no Dominic or Jamie nearby now, it's just me and my Gracie. There's not even any of our friends here. I expect her to kiss me, but she says slowly, and articulately. 'You shouldn't have come to Europe.' I honestly want to scream at her, and warn her of just how wrong she is. But I also want to hold her in my arms and tell her that everything will be alright. So, I settle for the middle, and start yelling at her. 'Oh, _I_ shouldn't have come to Europe?' I ask. She actually cowers back and I instantly feel bad, until she bites back. 'You can do something besides repeat everything I say you know.' Cool, she's angry at me… well. 'Oh, can I? Because what I want to do is strangle you. I want to tie you up and throw you over my shoulder and jump out of a moving train. I want to take you to the coldest place in Siberia, to the darkest part of the moon. I want to keep you safe, Gracie. So, the question is, why are you so determined to stop me?' She looks at me, and holds my shoulders. 'Is Jamie okay?' She asks, and she completely disregards what I said earlier. I slide my fingers into her hair, and pull her onto my lap. I turn her around to face me, and she wraps her legs around my waist. I hold her close and we just sit there for ages. I massage her scalp with my fingers and breath out. I realise when she looks at me, that I have said something, and I have no idea what I said. Would it be awkward if I asked her what I said? Yes… probably. She smiles slightly, so I know that whatever it was must've made her happy. Her smile fades, as she looks up at me, our faces inches away. 'Is Jamie okay?' She asks, as if it's the only thing that matters. And to her, it probably is. I tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. I smile, and she crumbles into my body, I hold her tightly. I start teasing her, trying to flirt with her and build up to something I've been wanting to tell her for months. But I can't do it yet. So, I smile wryly and look down at her, thickening my accent to make it seem extra cute. 'Jamie is not my primary concern at the moment.' She pushes away from my body, and sits on my knees. She looks really annoyed. Well that plan backfired. 'You know what I mean Alexei. Are they still on the run or are they someplace where Jamie can get better?' She asks me, and I pity her so much in this moment. I lift her up and put her on the end of the table. I stand up quickly and walk quickly over to another empty table and slam my hands down with so much force the table splinters. Lucky the carriage is empty, because I am about to lose it. 'You ran away!' I yell at her. I'm not accusing her though. I'm merely restating an event that occurred. But the fact that I have to do it in the first place is the thing that makes me angry. 'I ran so that the rest of you could _stop_ running.' She is trying to reason with me, and I hate it. She can't try and justify what she did, so I spin on her and continue yelling. 'You left!' God, if I could say some of the things that are going through my head right now… She has no idea what it feels like to watch the person you love above all people kidnapped and taken to a foreign country, and then to go to their rescue and find out that you weren't called to help them, and that they were running away from you. I want to scream all of this at her, but I also want to tell her how much I love her, and that all I want to do is hold her tight. Grace chokes out a sentence, and it sounds like she is going to cry, and I feel very bad for scaring her. 'Yes,' She says, tears welling up in her eyes. She swallows hard. 'And I'd do it again.' I bolt towards her and she cowers back but I put my arms around her. Does she really think that I would ever hurt her? Just the fact that she would even think that breaks my heart into a million little pieces. I could never hurt my beautiful girl. 'Not without me,' I hold her tightly into my body. 'Never without me. Never again. Say it, Grace, say it.' I finish and look right into her eyes. This is the moment where I see if she is truly loyal to me. 'Okay,' she says, but I need her to make it clear as clear can be. 'Say it!' I stare down into her eyes. We are so close right now, and all I want to do is grab her and kiss her as hard as I can. I grab her face in my hands and pull forward until I am less than a centimetre away from her. I look at her beautiful brown eyes and she looks up at me. 'Never again.' She says. And I decide to tell her what I went through that night, hoping that it will stop her from ever repeating herself. I turn away and run my fingers through my hair. 'I was so scared. When I woke up and you were gone… And then when I found you, and those men were there... Блядь... I was so scared!' I say, and I drop my hands. 'Alexei,' She says, barely louder than a whisper. She grabs my right hand after I drop it and pulls me straight into her. Her legs are open and hug my torso. She looks straight at me and grabs my face. She presses her lips against mine. She slowly opens her mouth and we move our tongues around. I start to move away from the table she is still sitting on, and she moves off with me. I slide my hands down to her waist and she wraps her hands around my neck, I pull her onto the ground, and once she is standing, we move to the table I nearly broke earlier. I spin her around and she once again is leaning against the table. Alright Alexei, this is the moment. Just tell her, as soon as she breaks away tell her. Before I can lay her down on the table, I hear a small cough coming from down the corridor. ' _Ahem_ ' Megan says, and Grace stops the kiss. I move my lips up to her ear and start to whisper. 'Gracie, I lo-' 'Sorry to interrupt,' Megan says, obviously oblivious to my whispering in Grace's ear. She nods her head, smiles and looks at me as if to say, "Nice going,". She continues after a moment. 'But we thought you'd like to see this.' She grabs a remote control and spins it around to face the television hanging up behind the bar. I hoist Grace up and she stands and holds my waist with her hands. She rests her head on my shoulder and I wrap my arm around her shoulder. The Adrian news comes onto the screen. The cities of Valencia are displayed, and the camera zooms into the police station. There is a newscaster standing out the front, explaining in rapid Adrian. We have come in during the middle of a sentence, so it's hard to understand what's going on. The camera pans across, and we see a man in handcuffs being dragged along by two large men in police uniforms. I'm confused as to what this has to do with us, and why we would need to see this. However, Grace looks up at me, like she needs to tell me something. Oh great! This'll be good. 'Alexei-' She starts, but then the picture changes and her grandfather comes onto the screen. She gasps. It is evident to all of us that he is not well. He looks much, much older. I always knew that he wasn't very old for a grandfather, because Caroline had Jamie when she was only 19. But also, that he was one of the older ambassadors, though you couldn't tell. He was usually so full of life and up-beat. This is the first time that I have ever seen his as old. It is for all of us. And it is scaring Grace, I can tell. Megan turns up the TV's volume, and we can hear Ambassador Vincent talking to the press. 'We are extremely pleased that the perpetrator of this terrible, random crime has been caught and Alexei Volkov's name has been cleared.' Say what? How have they done this? No. No, it's not possible, someone must've done something. Grace. I swear to god if Grace has done something I will kill her. The ambassador continues. 'Our relationship with our neighbours is very important. Ambassador Volkov and I have spoken, and I look forward to everything returning to normal, as both of our countries get back to the diplomatic work for which we are here.' He glances behind him and I see my father, standing there. Ladies and gentlemen the world's biggest ass-hole. I know I should be happy that my father is safe and well, but he was fully-ready to send me - his own son - to prison, for a crime that he knows fully well I didn't commit. So, I'm not. I show no emotions, and just stand there, looking at the television. But I am still confused as to what is going on. How is my name suddenly cleared? The allegations against me cause a huge international incident, so they can't suddenly be dropped. It's just not possible. That's not how it works in the world of politics. So there has to have been some sort of interference by someone. Then it hits me. Grace was willing to run away and basically sacrifice her life to save Jamie, so she definitely might've made a bargain to clear my name. Oh, my freaking goodness. If she has, I swear I will kill her. 'Alexei,' Rosie runs towards me and jumps into my arms, and I quickly have to let go of Grace so that Rosie doesn't fall over and nearly kill us all. 'It's so great! You're cleared! You're free. You didn't do it! I mean, we always knew you didn't do it, but now everyone knows, and you're free!' I am so fricking angry right now. I turn to Grace. 'What did you do Gracie?' I ask her, fuming, she looks down at Rosie, expressionless. 'Alexei, you can come home!' Rosie hugs my torso tightly, Noah pries her off me. Lucky, because I'm about to explode. I breathe deeply, allowing everyone to have their say first, because once I start, no one's going to get a word in. 'It's not that simple Ro,' Noah says. No one is looking at me. I guess they all know what's good for them. 'But…' Rosie says, looking from Noah, to me, to Grace. 'Gracie. What. Did. You. Do.' I am trying so hard not to yell. My teeth are clenched and my fists are in balls. I can feel my nails digging into my palms. 'I got you cleared.' She says vaguely, still not making eye-contact with me. She stares at the neckline of my white T-Shirt. 'Grace?' Megan grabs her hand, she looks worried. We all know what's coming - well, except Rosie - yet none of us want to hear it. 'I asked the Prime Minister, OK? When I turned myself into the Society, I said that I had some conditions. Clearing your name was one of them.' She says, so matter-of-a-fact it almost kills me. I reach boiling point, and anger flows out of me like an all-powerful river. 'And you didn't think to tell me?' I yell, and she finally looks up at me. She starts to yell too. 'I didn't think it mattered! Or, well, I didn't think they'd do it. I kind of ran out on them. Literally.' She yells with a small scoff. She grabs my hands and pulls me into her. But I pull away. 'You bargained for my freedom?' I say, like she signed a deal with the devil. And in a way, she most certainly did. While I appreciate the gesture, I hate that she was willing to sacrifice herself for me. 'You didn't do it, Alexei!' She screams grabbing my head and pulling it right in front of her own. She says the next bit, barely louder than a whisper. 'You were the most wanted man in Europe for something you didn't do.' I am almost content with what she is saying, until I realise that the man who has been arrested is probably just as innocent as I am. 'And what of the man they arrested, Gracie?' I point at the screen. 'What did _he_ do?' I've got her and she knows it. I pull my head back out of her grasp. 'I'm sure he did something!' She blurts out, but she doesn't look like she believes it one bit. 'Most of the world was sure _I'd_ done something.' I say and she sighs and plops down into one of the seats behind her. She puts her head in her hands and runs her fingers through her hair. She eventually looks up at me. 'Maybe he really is the killer. We don't know. We may never know. And now you... you can go home,' She says sadly, and I realise that maybe she is trying to do this for me, because she knows she can't go home herself. What Grace doesn't realise, is that home is where the heart is. So my home will always be with her. 'I'm not going anywhere,' I say looking at her pointedly. 'You have to!' She snaps and Megan steps behind her, as soon as I give her a look, saying "Oh yup. Like I'm gonna leave you..." 'You seem to think we're giving you a choice.' Megan says. I could take her on in a fight and easily win, normally. But not right now. She is with Grace, and she isn't going to argue with me. So, I throw my hands in the air and sit down in the booth opposite Grace. She stands up and walks towards me. I realise that Megan, Rosie and Grace are all standing in front of me with their arms crossed. Like a powerful wall of women. Noah walks over, obviously a bit offended at being left out of the loop. So, he takes a biiiiig step around Rosie and holds onto Megan to keep himself steady. He looks at Grace. 'Fine.' He shrugs and looks at me. I just shake my head and turn away, with my eyebrows raised. I bite my lip to try and stop myself from saying anything. 'Where do we start?' He asks us. I wait a minute and then something clicks. I completely forgot about my accompaniment. My eyes light up slightly and Grace sees it. Shit. She walks towards me slowly, swinging her hips. It's adorable when she tries to be sexy. It must work, because I run my fingers through my too-long, too-dirty thick black hair and sigh. 'I was afraid you were going to say this, so...' I say, immediately regretting it. 'So, what?' Grace asks, staring me down. She sits down on my lap and strokes my chin with her finger, pulling my head up. I look straight into those beautiful, big brown eyes.I am going to regret this. 'So... I didn't come alone.'


	8. REMEMBERING - PROPER FORMAT

Sorry everyone, I seem to be having a bit of a format issue. If the text is bunched up for you guys too, could you please review or PM me ASAP so that I can fix it? Thanks x

-Ella

CHAPTER SEVEN: REMEMBERING

Grace is rocking. So, I wrap my arms around her and whisper in her ears. Poor Grace, that embassy is her home. She must be so scared, knowing that the whole Embassy has to be protected because of her. She is curled up in a ball, and she looks so adorable. But now is not the time to admire her. I need to be here for her, be the rock she can lean on. She starts speaking out of the blue, and looks up at me.

'So . . . someone is trying to kill me. And Jamie. They want – no, they _need_ – us dead. We're a threat. And as long as we live . . . as long as our entire bloodline lives, we will always be a threat.' She stops shaking and moves away from me, as if by touching me, she automatically endangers me too. But the thing she doesn't understand is that I don't care what lengths I have to go to keep her safe. I don't care if I get hurt, as long as she doesn't. So, I grab her, lift her up onto my lap and stroke her back.

'But Grace . . .,' Rosie begins, and she seems completely lost for what to say. 'Do you _want_ to be a princess?' Grace gives a small laugh, as if she can't believe that this is her reality now, that people ask her that question and expect a serious answer.

'No, Ro, I most certainly do not _want_ to be a princess.' She gives a small, weak smile up at me and I kiss her cheek softly.

'Well, maybe is you explain that to everyone,' Rosie is trying to make Grace see the sense in what she is saying, but I already know what she is getting at, and unfortunately, it's not happening. 'Maybe if you just tell them, then maybe . . .' But Grace shakes her head and opens her mouth. But Megan beats her to it.

'It doesn't work that way,' She says.

'Yeah, they're never going to believe me,' Grace says looking at Rosie, but it's Megan's turn to shake her head.

'No, Grace. You don't understand. Adrian law won't allow it.' Megan gets her laptop out of her bag, and gets Noah to go and get the Wi-Fi password. When he comes back with it, we all sit quietly for at least a minute, while her fingers fly across the keyboard. She spins the laptop around as she says, 'I'm talking about this.'

It's some sort of website, with all stuff to do with Adrian History, but specifically stuff relating to the government and politics.

'After the War of the Fortnight, all kinds of people still believed that Amelia was alive. Or maybe they just hoped she was. Anyway, it was a rumour for a long time.' She says, and all of us look at her like she's crazy. I have no idea what she's on about, but I just listen, hoping someone else will question her. Of-course it's Noah.

'Ok,' Noah says sarcastically. Megan rolls her eyes.

'Think about it. The country had just been through a _war_. A bloody, bitter revolution. Adria was fractured and broken. And they needed to move on. They brokered the peace treaty under the condition that the dead king's brother would assume the throne, but that there would also be a new parliament. Peace depended upon that. But there were still all these whispers – all these theories – that Amelia was alive, and as much as half the country wanted the war to be over, the other half didn't want Amelia's throne taken away from her if she was still alive – that if she really did survive, they owed it to her to keep her throne intact.'

'So?' Rosie says. Trust her to interrupt right when the big reveal is coming. 'Amelia was never out on the throne. And then, presumably, she died. Unless she became a vampire. Did she become a vampire?'

Megan resists the urge to roll her eyes. 'No,' She says simply. 'But they wrote the constitution as if someday she might come back, and–' Megan turns her laptop back to face her and Rosie leans over her shoulder trying to read as well. '"In the event that out lost Amelia should be found, she _or her heirs_ shall return to the throne of the country that is rightfully theirs."' So that means that Grace and Jamie should be on the throne instead of the whole current royal family. Woah, that is some deep stuff. I can nearly feel Grace's thoughts racing through her head, the poor thing. She is probably so overwhelmed right now. I squeeze her shoulder gently and she lays her head back onto my shoulder.

'Don't you see?' Megan seems very frustrated that we aren't quite grasping whatever she is getting at. But I kinda do.

'If Amelia had returned – if her _heirs_ return – then it all goes away. The Prime Minister.' Good. It would be great if we could get rid of that crazy bitch. 'Parliament. Not to mention the current King. All gone. Amelia's heirs – that's you, Grace. That's Jamie – would reclaim the throne and then Adria would, by law, revert to the government it had before the coup.' Grace looks at her, and Megan raises her eyebrows. When Grace starts to speak, Megan sighs.

'That can't be right,' She shakes her head, and Megan just puts her head in her hands, as if she needs to say something that she really doesn't want to say. Grace goes on, 'They wouldn't have written the constitution to a country like that. Not to pacify some crazy conspiracy theories.' She says as if that makes everything better.

'But they weren't crazy, were they.' Noah says, and Grace exhales deeply, looks up at me, disbelief etched on her face. She has been defeated. And she knows it.

'It's in the constitution,' She says, and she retreats further into me. She puts her head in my lap and swings her feet onto the chair next to the one she had just occupied. Megan looks up from her hands and rests her chin upon them. She looks at Grace sadly.

'I'm not saying the Society is right, Grace. But according to this, Jamie doesn't have a choice.' She says, and Grace sits up and looks out the window, then she starts to sway.

'Grace?' I ask her as she plops into my lap. I pinch her thigh to try and wake her up, and for a second I panic, like maybe someone has shot her from outside the train. But that is ridiculous, she has just fainted. Which I totally understand. Megan basically just delivered the news that, like it or not, she needs to sit on the throne of a vitally important European country.

. . .

Grace eventually comes to, and when she does, everyone leaves the carriage, winking and giving the thumbs up, Noah even wolf-whistles. And I hate them for it. I flip the bird just as Grace opens her eyes. She looks at me for a moment and then runs her fingers through my hair.

'You should probably wear a hat or something.' She says, and I nearly laugh, until I realise how right she is. I am still a wanted man. The world – especially the media – still think that I killed Spence. And now I'm back in Europe, but it's for Grace, and there is nothing I wouldn't risk to be with her and protect her. But she looks at me, absolutely terrified.

'You need to go back, Alexei!' This is unbelievable, I don't care if I get locked up and thrown away, as long as Grace is far out of the reach of Princess Ann and the Society. So, I say, exasperated.

' _I_ need to go back?' I ask her, as if she has just suggested I get married to Lila. She leans closer, there is no Dominic or Jamie nearby now, it's just me and my Gracie. There's not even any of our friends here.

I expect her to kiss me, but she says slowly, and articulately.

'You shouldn't have come to Europe.' I honestly want to scream at her, and warn her of just how wrong she is. But I also want to hold her in my arms and tell her that everything will be alright. So, I settle for the middle, and start yelling at her.

'Oh, _I_ shouldn't have come to Europe?' I ask. She actually cowers back and I instantly feel bad, until she bites back.

'You can do something besides repeat everything I say you know.' Cool, she's angry at me… well.

'Oh, can I? Because what I want to do is strangle you. I want to tie you up and throw you over my shoulder and jump out of a moving train. I want to take you to the coldest place in Siberia, to the darkest part of the moon. I want to keep you safe, Gracie. So, the question is, why are you so determined to stop me?' She looks at me, and holds my shoulders.

'Is Jamie okay?' She asks, and she completely disregards what I said earlier. I slide my fingers into her hair, and pull her onto my lap. I turn her around to face me, and she wraps her legs around my waist. I hold her close and we just sit there for ages. I massage her scalp with my fingers and breath out. I realise when she looks at me, that I have said something, and I have no idea what I said. Would it be awkward if I asked her what I said? Yes… probably. She smiles slightly, so I know that whatever it was must've made her happy. Her smile fades, as she looks up at me, our faces inches away.

'Is Jamie okay?' She asks, as if it's the only thing that matters. And to her, it probably is. I tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. I smile, and she crumbles into my body, I hold her tightly. I start teasing her, trying to flirt with her and build up to something I've been wanting to tell her for months. But I can't do it yet. So, I smile wryly and look down at her, thickening my accent to make it seem extra cute.

'Jamie is not my primary concern at the moment.' She pushes away from my body, and sits on my knees. She looks really annoyed. Well that plan backfired.

'You know what I mean Alexei. Are they still on the run or are they someplace where Jamie can get better?' She asks me, and I pity her so much in this moment. I lift her up and put her on the end of the table. I stand up quickly and walk quickly over to another empty table and slam my hands down with so much force the table splinters. Lucky the carriage is empty, because I am about to lose it.

'You ran away!' I yell at her. I'm not accusing her though. I'm merely restating an event that occurred. But the fact that I have to do it in the first place is the thing that makes me angry.

'I ran so that the rest of you could _stop_ running.' She is trying to reason with me, and I hate it. She can't try and justify what she did, so I spin on her and continue yelling.

'You left!' God, if I could say some of the things that are going through my head right now… She has no idea what it feels like to watch the person you love above all people kidnapped and taken to a foreign country, and then to go to their rescue and find out that you weren't called to help them, and that they were running away from you. I want to scream all of this at her, but I also want to tell her how much I love her, and that all I want to do is hold her tight. Grace chokes out a sentence, and it sounds like she is going to cry, and I feel very bad for scaring her.

'Yes,' She says, tears welling up in her eyes. She swallows hard. 'And I'd do it again.' I bolt towards her and she cowers back but I put my arms around her. Does she really think that I would ever hurt her? Just the fact that she would even think that breaks my heart into a million little pieces. I could never hurt my beautiful girl.

'Not without me,' I hold her tightly into my body. 'Never without me. Never again. Say it, Grace, say it.' I finish and look right into her eyes. This is the moment where I see if she is truly loyal to me.

'Okay,' she says, but I need her to make it clear as clear can be.

'Say it!' I stare down into her eyes. We are so close right now, and all I want to do is grab her and kiss her as hard as I can. I grab her face in my hands and pull forward until I am less than a centimetre away from her. I look at her beautiful brown eyes and she looks up at me.

'Never again.' She says. And I decide to tell her what I went through that night, hoping that it will stop her from ever repeating herself. I turn away and run my fingers through my hair.

'I was so scared. When I woke up and you were gone… And then when I found you, and those men were there... Блядь... I was so scared!' I say, and I drop my hands.

'Alexei,' She says, barely louder than a whisper. She grabs my right hand after I drop it and pulls me straight into her. Her legs are open and hug my torso. She looks straight at me and grabs my face. She presses her lips against mine. She slowly opens her mouth and we move our tongues around. I start to move away from the table she is still sitting on, and she moves off with me. I slide my hands down to her waist and she wraps her hands around my neck, I pull her onto the ground, and once she is standing, we move to the table I nearly broke earlier. I spin her around and she once again is leaning against the table. Alright Alexei, this is the moment. Just tell her, as soon as she breaks away tell her. Before I can lay her down on the table, I hear a small cough coming from down the corridor.

' _Ahem_ ' Megan says, and Grace stops the kiss. I move my lips up to her ear and start to whisper.

'Gracie, I lo-'

'Sorry to interrupt,' Megan says, obviously oblivious to my whispering in Grace's ear. She nods her head, smiles and looks at me as if to say, "Nice going,". She continues after a moment.

'But we thought you'd like to see this.' She grabs a remote control and spins it around to face the television hanging up behind the bar. I hoist Grace up and she stands and holds my waist with her hands. She rests her head on my shoulder and I wrap my arm around her shoulder.

The Adrian news comes onto the screen. The cities of Valencia are displayed, and the camera zooms into the police station. There is a newscaster standing out the front, explaining in rapid Adrian. We have come in during the middle of a sentence, so it's hard to understand what's going on. The camera pans across, and we see a man in handcuffs being dragged along by two large men in police uniforms.

I'm confused as to what this has to do with us, and why we would need to see this. However, Grace looks up at me, like she needs to tell me something. Oh great! This'll be good.

'Alexei-' She starts, but then the picture changes and her grandfather comes onto the screen. She gasps. It is evident to all of us that he is not well. He looks much, much older. I always knew that he wasn't very old for a grandfather, because Caroline had Jamie when she was only 19. But also, that he was one of the older ambassadors, though you couldn't tell. He was usually so full of life and up-beat. This is the first time that I have ever seen his as old. It is for all of us. And it is scaring Grace, I can tell.

Megan turns up the TV's volume, and we can hear Ambassador Vincent talking to the press.

'We are extremely pleased that the perpetrator of this terrible, random crime has been caught and Alexei Volkov's name has been cleared.' Say what? How have they done this? No. No, it's not possible, someone must've done something. Grace. I swear to god if Grace has done something I will kill her. The ambassador continues.

'Our relationship with our neighbours is very important. Ambassador Volkov and I have spoken, and I look forward to everything returning to normal, as both of our countries get back to the diplomatic work for which we are here.' He glances behind him and I see my father, standing there. Ladies and gentlemen the world's biggest ass-hole. I know I should be happy that my father is safe and well, but he was fully-ready to send me - his own son - to prison, for a crime that he knows fully well I didn't commit. So, I'm not. I show no emotions, and just stand there, looking at the television.

But I am still confused as to what is going on. How is my name suddenly cleared? The allegations against me cause a huge international incident, so they can't suddenly be dropped. It's just not possible. That's not how it works in the world of politics. So there has to have been some sort of interference by someone. Then it hits me. Grace was willing to run away and basically sacrifice her life to save Jamie, so she definitely might've made a bargain to clear my name. Oh, my freaking goodness. If she has, I swear I will kill her.

'Alexei,' Rosie runs towards me and jumps into my arms, and I quickly have to let go of Grace so that Rosie doesn't fall over and nearly kill us all. 'It's so great! You're cleared! You're free. You didn't do it! I mean, we always knew you didn't do it, but now everyone knows, and you're free!' I am so fricking angry right now. I turn to Grace.

'What did you do Gracie?' I ask her, fuming, she looks down at Rosie, expressionless.

'Alexei, you can come home!' Rosie hugs my torso tightly, Noah pries her off me. Lucky, because I'm about to explode. I breathe deeply, allowing everyone to have their say first, because once I start, no one's going to get a word in.

'It's not that simple Ro,' Noah says. No one is looking at me. I guess they all know what's good for them.

'But…' Rosie says, looking from Noah, to me, to Grace.

'Gracie. What. Did. You. Do.' I am trying so hard not to yell. My teeth are clenched and my fists are in balls. I can feel my nails digging into my palms.

'I got you cleared.' She says vaguely, still not making eye-contact with me. She stares at the neckline of my white T-Shirt.

'Grace?' Megan grabs her hand, she looks worried. We all know what's coming - well, except Rosie - yet none of us want to hear it.

'I asked the Prime Minister, OK? When I turned myself into the Society, I said that I had some conditions. Clearing your name was one of them.' She says, so matter-of-a-fact it almost kills me. I reach boiling point, and anger flows out of me like an all-powerful river.

'And you didn't think to tell me?' I yell, and she finally looks up at me. She starts to yell too.

'I didn't think it mattered! Or, well, I didn't think they'd do it. I kind of ran out on them. Literally.' She yells with a small scoff. She grabs my hands and pulls me into her. But I pull away.

'You bargained for my freedom?' I say, like she signed a deal with the devil. And in a way, she most certainly did. While I appreciate the gesture, I hate that she was willing to sacrifice herself for me.

'You didn't do it, Alexei!' She screams grabbing my head and pulling it right in front of her own. She says the next bit, barely louder than a whisper. 'You were the most wanted man in Europe for something you didn't do.' I am almost content with what she is saying, until I realise that the man who has been arrested is probably just as innocent as I am.

'And what of the man they arrested, Gracie?' I point at the screen. 'What did _he_ do?' I've got her and she knows it. I pull my head back out of her grasp.

'I'm sure he did something!' She blurts out, but she doesn't look like she believes it one bit.

'Most of the world was sure _I'd_ done something.' I say and she sighs and plops down into one of the seats behind her. She puts her head in her hands and runs her fingers through her hair. She eventually looks up at me.

'Maybe he really is the killer. We don't know. We may never know. And now you... you can go home,' She says sadly, and I realise that maybe she is trying to do this for me, because she knows she can't go home herself. What Grace doesn't realise, is that home is where the heart is. So my home will always be with her.

'I'm not going anywhere,' I say looking at her pointedly.

'You have to!' She snaps and Megan steps behind her, as soon as I give her a look, saying "Oh yup. Like I'm gonna leave you..."

'You seem to think we're giving you a choice.' Megan says. I could take her on in a fight and easily win, normally. But not right now. She is with Grace, and she isn't going to argue with me. So, I throw my hands in the air and sit down in the booth opposite Grace. She stands up and walks towards me. I realise that Megan, Rosie and Grace are all standing in front of me with their arms crossed. Like a powerful wall of women. Noah walks over, obviously a bit offended at being left out of the loop. So, he takes a biiiiig step around Rosie and holds onto Megan to keep himself steady. He looks at Grace.

'Fine.' He shrugs and looks at me. I just shake my head and turn away, with my eyebrows raised. I bite my lip to try and stop myself from saying anything. 'Where do we start?' He asks us. I wait a minute and then something clicks. I completely forgot about my accompaniment. My eyes light up slightly and Grace sees it. Shit. She walks towards me slowly, swinging her hips. It's adorable when she tries to be sexy. It must work, because I run my fingers through my too-long, too-dirty thick black hair and sigh.

'I was afraid you were going to say this, so...' I say, immediately regretting it.

'So, what?' Grace asks, staring me down. She sits down on my lap and strokes my chin with her finger, pulling my head up. I look straight into those beautiful, big brown eyes.I am going to regret this.

'So... I didn't come alone.'


	9. I LOVE YOU

Alright everyone, so I know I have been really lazy with posting chapters, but school is really important to me, and I have a lot of netball going on, plus my academic exams. So here is the chapter 8. I will not make any promises but I should be able to post twice tomorrow! xx Hope you enjoy this chapter, is Alexei finally going to get to tell Grace what he's been wanting to tell her for years? And will he be able to get past what has happened to him in his childhood and help out his friends? Enjoy :)

PS. Sorry this chapter is really short, but I feel like it makes it easier to read and more fun for me as the author to leave you all guessing, not that my endings are very suspenseful yet... but they will be!

Thanks for supporting me throughout writing this whole story, as it is my first one, I was very nervous. But thanks to everyone who reviews and PMs me. ON TO THE STORY 3

CHAPTER 8: I LOVE YOU

Grace opens her mouth and shakes her head. She runs towards me and grabs me by the shoulders. She shakes me slightly.

'If Jamie and Dominic are in Europe, then-' She says, but I cut her off before she gets too scared.

'Not your brother.' I tell her, and she sighs, relieved and falls into my body. She looks like she is about to cry. I peel her off me and Noah assumes my place. I walk over to the table where my backpack and duffel bag have been sitting and sigh. I unzip the backpack and shake out all the contents. Grace looks absolutely gobsmacked. Her mouth is open and her eyes are wide. But everyone else just looks super confused.

'I'm confused.' Rosie says, putting her hands on her hips. 'How is a bag full of junk going to help us?' But no one answers her. We are all watching Grace, as she takes a step forward and reaches out to touch the pile. She runs her finger along one of the glossy photographs and breathes in.

She turns to face us all as she says, 'It's my mother's junk. She kept it in a secret room beneath her shop.' Grace has Rosie's attention at secret room. She jumps over to where the pile is and opens her mouth.

'Heilige Großartigkeit' she mutters, her eyes wide.

'My mother collected all this. She collected it, and she kept it hidden.' Grace says.

'And you only hide the things that matter,' Megan says as she meets Grace's gaze.

Grace looks at all of us from afar as we go through the pile of her mother's stuff. But I can tell she's not really seeing anything. She is going off to the land inside her head, and she needs an express return ticket. I walk over to her and touch her arm. She is cold, like really cold. I look into her eyes.

'Gracie, are you okay?' I say, but she doesn't seem to hear me. She just shudders. Like she is seeing a ghost. I stand next to her while the rest of the group shuffles through Caroline's things, but it is only when Megan speaks that she acknowledges me.

'Grace,' Says Megan, and finally she stops staring into space.

'Grace, you need to look at this. Do you recognise it?' Megan asks, holding up a little book, covered in soft brown leather.

Grace looks over at it briefly and then looks down at her feet.

'It's a calendar,' She says, without really looking at it. Instead, she looks over Megan's shoulder and through the window of the train.

'Do you want to...?' Megan begins, but Grace just shakes her head.

'No. You do it.' She says, and Megan and I can both hear what she didn't say. It would be so difficult for her to read her mother's writing, and see what she had planned out for the weeks after she died. I would never want Gracie to have to go through that, so I guide her gently over to a booth and sit her down. Megan nods after a while, and starts to flick through the pages, reading really, really quickly.

I walk around the carriage and stand over next to Noah, and when he runs his fingers through his hair, I get a glimpse of his watch. 7:48pm, Thursday 11th May. May 11. Exactly 10yrs ago today, was the day my mother went missing. The day my mother left without saying goodbye.

'Excuse me,' I whisper to Noah, and he looks up from his conversation with Rosie, consisting of the question, "Is it football, or soccer?".

'Hey Alexei, you alright?' He chases after me as I speed walk down the aisle. I turn around to face him, and plaster on my best diplomatic smile.

'Yeah... I'm fine, I just need a minute.' I say, turning and sitting down in one of the booths, around 10m away from the rest of the group.

I can't believe it. Ten years has gone by since my mother disappeared. I have missed her so, so much. I can't believe my father was so emotionless and calm on the TV. But then again, that's my father for you. Just an arrogant, selfish prick. I can't believe he would just stand there, and act normally – for him at least.

On this day ten years ago, his wife went missing, and his only son was left changed forever. But still, he stands there, not showing any indication that he actually gives two shits. I know I shouldn't get so angry, after all, he is Russian.

I remember the day that my mother went missing as if it was yesterday. I woke up to the sound of Mikhail's voice.

 _'Lyosha,' He said. 'Lyosha, come quickly, your mother is missing.' I raced out of bed and ran into my father's office. He was having a smoke with the Prime Minister of that time._

 _'Sir, you do know that Karina's missing, don't you?' Mikhail asked him bravely._

 _'Yes, of course I do!' My father snapped. 'Do you think I wouldn't notice that my wife didn't wake up in her bed this morning? Do you?'_

 _'Well, are you going to do anything about it, or just sit here and smoke like you don't care!?' I yelled. That was the first time I ever stuck up to my father. God, the look in his eyes was the most terrifying thing I have ever seen._

 _'Come on, Lyosha, let's go up to your room.' Mikhail said, as he led up to my bedroom. I instantly started to cry. After all, I was only 9 at the time. Mikhail comforted me, and told me it would all be okay, and that we would find her. He didn't however tell me the truth. My father ordered all of his staff not to bother finding her. That night, as I lay crying in bed, my father came up to my room, through the door open and yelled._

 _'Alexei! Firstly, you will not cry. You are a man, for god's sake you brat. GET UP!' I stood up slowly and tried to pretend like I hadn't been crying. 'Secondly, you will not tell anyone that your mother is missing, it is bad for publicity. And finally, if I ever hear that you have even so much as mentioned her name, you will be sent to Russia and raised by some other unfortunate people! Do I make myself clear?'_

 _That was the most scared I have ever been in my life. I just nodded, and he left the room without another word. I had always known that my father was harsh, but that he could speak to his son with such hatred and malice, was unfathomable to me._

 _Exactly one month after that day, both my father and I received identical letters, from a place called Binevale. It read:_

Для предъявления по месту требования: Мы пишем, чтобы сообщить вам, что у нас есть так называемая MRS. Карина Волков. Увидев, что у нее нет никаких признаков каких-либо психических расстройств, мы просим вас прийти и получить то, что принадлежит вам. С Уважением, Виктор Заводчикова

 _To Whom It May Concern:_

 _We write to inform you that we are in possession of a so-called, MRS. Karina Volkov. Seeing as she has no known signs of any mental disorders, we request that you come and retrieve what is yours._

 _Regards,_

 _Viktor Zavodchikova_

 _My father ignored the request, and left her there, forbade me to ever tell anyone about the letters or Binevale, and shut himself away in his office for 4 years, only coming out when absolutely necessary._

I am brought back from my past by the sound of Megan's voice. Perhaps too ironically, I feel like she said Binevale. But I can't be sure. So, I stand up and make my way back down the aisle, unaware that I have been crying. I wipe my eyes and breathe in deeply.

'No,' Grace says, shaking her head and looking at Noah.

'I've never heard of it, and Adria's not that big.' He says, and I move into the booth adjacent to Grace's. Yep they're definitely talking about Binevale.

'Megan,' Noah starts again. 'Can you get online and see if you can find out where this town might be and what-'

'It's not a town.' I say, my voice emotionless and I'm surprised it doesn't crack. I turn to the window and press my hand against the window. I need to stop talking about this. I feel like the place is bugged and wired, and if I tell them anymore, my father will come barging in here with half of the Russian Special Forces and attempt to kill me. I will not tell them about that day, or the letters, but I will clarify Binevale for them.

'And...' I say, knowing deep down I really shouldn't. 'And it's not in Adria.'

...

When we first get to the train station – after around 8 and ½ hours of sitting on the train from Paris to Lutherland, and trying to stay awake and protect Grace, if need be – it is 5:50 in the morning. And because no one was really adjusted to the different time of sunset, which was around 9:20pm, everyone – apart from me - all fell asleep at like 11pm and didn't wake up until I shouted and shook them all.

Grace still hasn't woken up properly, so I sit in the backseat - of the really old German car that we just hired - with her, and stroke her hair. She rests her head on my shoulders and I can't help but whisper to her. Noah is behind the wheel, with Rosie, who called shotgun first, sitting next to him. Megan sits to Grace's right, still very tired and napping as well.

'I know you can't hear me Gracie, but I've been dying to do this for years. I love you, and care for you more than I do myself. I want to have a happy life together, and even though that's not looking like a likely possibility at the moment, I promise I will make sure it works. I love you Grace, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.' I whisper, and she rubs her nose with her cute little fingers. For a second I am scared shitless that she is actually awake, and that she heard everything I said. I mean, I would gladly tell her, if I had the balls. But when she nestles into me, I am positive she is still asleep.

I hug her close into my body and imagine what our future will be like. If we ever get there.


	10. WHO IS THAT WOMAN?

**Hi everyone... So this chapter shows a little bit of vulnerability from Alexei, which I felt I needed to include for contrast. I really hope you like this one... I think its the one where Alexei is honest with himself about some things. I should be posting Chapter 10 tomorrow but I'm not going to make any promises, because I still have exams. I am about to have my music exam in a couple of hours so wish me** **luck. I had commerce this morning, and I was expecting it to go really badly, but I think it was actually okay. Please don't hate me for not posting when I say I will, but school is really hectic, as I have all my exams at the moment, so my update schedule is really messed up. Anyway, please enjoy. xo**

 **-Ella**

CHAPTER 9: WHO IS THAT WOMAN!? As we drive up the rocky terrain, or highway, as the signs said, the car rattles and clunks, and does not sound like it's going to make it. I sit behind the wheel of the noisy little car, and I can't believe where I am taking my friends. I'm not even entirely sure that Binevale actually exists, so the fact that we've trekked across countries, just to find out if the rumours are true, goes to show how much we all care about Grace.

I do not however, wish to get her hopes up. After all, we are retracing her dead mother's footsteps, and if I can lead her to Binevale, then she might be able to figure out why her mother's death was ordered. It is very surreal to be coming here. Even though I am not completely convinced that this place even exists, if it does, I will find the place where my mother has been for the past ten years, and, if she's not dead, my mother herself. I don't really know how to react. I mean, I'm Russian, right? And while I know that Grace doesn't see me as some heartless hard-ass, I kind of feel like everyone expects me to put my emotions aside and support Grace. I will gladly do that in any scenario. Anyway, my mother is dead to me.

She left, without even saying goodbye. When I was only 9. Whereas Grace's mother was killed, and she is here to find out why. Consequently, I am here to help her. As we drive into the small country of Dubrovnia, Rosie breaks the silence, that has hung over us for at least an hour.

'Alexei, are you sure about this?' She asks. 'I mean, I know the Soviet Union was big and stuff, but that was a long time ago. Maybe...'

'It was not that long ago if you are Russian.' I say flatly.

'Turn up the heat, will you?' Asks Megan, and Rosie and I have to do everything we can not to roll our eyes. We share a look. I understand that they were raised in much warmer countries, but seriously, a little cold never harmed anyone.

Megan and Noah are shivering in the backseat, and I honestly want to see them try and handle the cold. But when Grace shudders, I immediately reach for the ancient dial and turn the heat up full blast. At first, the air conditioner spits out a gush of freezing air, as it hasn't warmed up yet, and Megan shrieks.

I can't help but laugh. It's only autumn, and if she's struggling to put up with this, then I would absolutely love to see her in the winter. Rosie chuckles a little bit, obviously sharing my thoughts. When I make the turn off to the right, I see a sign a little while away. I wish I didn't.

 ** _BINEVALE_**

 ** _6KM_**

It is now that I suddenly freeze up. I feel chills radiating through my bones and all throughout the car. My mother could be alive, and 6 kilometres away from me. No. It can't be true. But as much I don't want to believe it... I feel like I can't deny that Binevale is real, and 6kms away from me. I try to keep under control, and not shake, because that is a sign of weakness. I am supposed to be the strong one, the protector, so, if I start to shake, then everyone will panic.

Sometimes I hate having to always be the strong one, the one who is stoic and calm. I have imagined this situation thousands of times over the last 10 years, and not once, have I actually thought it would become a reality. 10 years, I have thought of what I would say to my mother if I ever saw her again. How could you leave your family? Why did you leave your family? Did you hate us that much that you had to send yourself away? Hold on. If she was unhappy, it was not likely that my mother would do something rash. Unless she had planned her getaway, it's not very likely that she just went to Binevale.

The thought that maybe she wasn't the one to decide to leave never really occurred to me. But of course, it didn't. I mean, she was in an unhappy marriage. And she didn't really have friends. Caroline was in America, and Ann was locked up in the palace. But my thoughts are interrupted by Noah.

'How far?' He asks, leaning over Megan's shoulder and looking at her phone. She claims that it is untraceable and that no one can hack it. I guess we're all too afraid to think that she could be wrong.

'It should be close, but I don't see anything.' She says with a frown. I veer left and pull off the road, into a small clearing surrounded my trees.

'What is it? What's wrong?' Grace reaches around the head rest behind me and runs her fingers through my hair. She's literally doing things to me right now. I quickly open my door and jump out. I open Grace's door too, and reach out my hand to help her out. She stretches her arms up and yawns.

'We walk,' I say, and they all know better than to argue, after all, we are on my turf, I speak the language, and I am the one who ultimately is in charge. I turn around and start walking up the steep, rocky hill, moving quickly and with purpose. I have to see, once and for all, if Binevale really exists.

'I thought you said we were going to Binevale,' Rosie whines, as she jogs slightly behind me. As I come up to the top of the hill, a large, three-storey, dark grey cinderblock complex comes into view. I sharply intake breath. Wow. I don't know what I expected, but this definitely wasn't it. I expected it to look scary and intimidating, but not this scary and intimidating. It doesn't look like a hospital... it looks like a prison.

When Rosie and the others eventually come to the top of the hill, I say, 'We are. We're here.'

'Is it a prison?' Megan asks, pulling her camera out of her backpack. I don't really know how to answer her. I think for a while, and then turn to face her.

'Of a sort.' I say, and I guess it's kind of true. But Grace doesn't seem to agree.

'No. This can't be it. Why would my mum come here? It doesn't exactly scream _antiquities._ '

'Technically, it's _not_ here.' As I look at the compound below us, I still can't believe that my mother has been here all these years. Hell, I can't even believe that it actually exists. Yet, here it is. I can't help but feel weird, thinking that my long-lost mother could potentially be 200 metres away from me.

I can tell they're all confused, but eventually they will work out what I mean. Grace and Rosie turn back to face the building, and look at it as if it's about to disappear. Noah is studying my face, his mouth hanging open slightly. I can't help but be amused. I turn to face him, and look at him. "Yes?" my look asks him.

'Girls like it when you're cryptic, don't they?' He asks me, and I suppress a laugh. He turns to Megan. 'Should I start being cryptic?' But Megan waves her hand and shrugs him off.

'Alexei... What is this place?' She asks me, and the truth comes over me. I give a small, sad smile.

'It's where you send people you want to disappear.' I look at Grace, and realise what I've said. This is a mental hospital, and she knows it. She was sent to one of these, but no one would ever want to send her away. I feel awful for saying what I said. Why wouldn't I think before I speak? I'm soooo stupid. Honestly Alexei. So, I try to cover up.

'I'm not sure what it is. Not exactly. It was built by the Soviets not long after the Second World War. Many believe it is a prison...'

'Of course, it's a prison!' I mean look at it. What else could it be?' Rosie interrupts. Grace turns around very slowly and faces me, looking me dead in the eyes. And at this very moment, I know exactly what she is thinking. How much does this boy know about me? How much has Jamie told him? Does he know I killed my own mother? DOES HE KNOW I WAS LOCKED UP AND DYING? Is the real question. And yes. I know all of these things, and I guess they're all the reasons that I am so protective over her.

She looks straight at me as she says, 'A hospital. It's a hospital.' I nod slowly, understanding what she's silently telling me. I can't tell them how she was strapped down to a hospital bed, and pumped with meds, nor the real reason her mother is dead.

'No way.' Rosie shakes her head and crosses her arms. 'Look at that place. How are people supposed to get better in that place?' Grace immediately starts to shake.

'They're not.' She says blankly, and she starts rocking. Back and forward. Noah puts his arm around her shoulders to steady her. Everyone looks at me. I think for a little bit, then proceed to talk with caution, making sure I don't trigger any more memories inside of Grace.

'People... Who go to Binevale. They do not come out.' I say. _Unless a letter is sent to their family who decides to let them rot there_. I think and I want to punch something. But I refrain, and stick with digging my fingernails into my palms. Megan takes a break from taking photos and looks up at me.

'Are you sure Alexei? I've never heard of it. And, I don't like to brag, but I read a lot. I mean _a lot_. And most of it is classified.' I can't help but laugh at her. She isn't joking, but she has never been more American in her life. My laugh is cold and dry and humourless.

'I'm sure,' I say and then I mutter under my breath. 'проблемные дети сесть на поезд. Они сесть на поезд до Бинеале.' It makes sense now. The little nursery rhyme that is told to children, it's actually true. I don't think anyone can hear me, that is, until Rosie questions me.

'What does that mean?' She asks.

I take a deep breath in, and scratch the back of my head with my hand.

'It is hard to translate, but it basically means _Troubled children take a train. They take a train to Binevale.'_ I laugh again and shrug my shoulders. 'In Russian, it is very clever. And it rhymes.'

'What is it? What does it mean?' Grace asks walking closer to me.

'It is something parents say to naughty children. It is the Russian version of _Be good or the Boogeyman will get you._ '

'I don't get it.' Rosie throws her hands in the air and looks at me. 'Why would bad kids get sent to a hospital? That doesn't make any sense.' She says, and I guess in a way she's right. But Grace speaks, and I feel so bad for her when she does.

'It does. If it's a mental hospital. You don't have to be bad, you just have to be crazy.' She starts scratching her wrists, very subtly and absent-mindedly, but I see it, and it seems I'm the only one who does. And she is shaking and rocking. I pull her into my body and hold her close. Her arms wrap around my back and she is still shaking. I stroke her back and the shaking and rocking subsides a little. I turn to the rest of the group.

'I never knew it was real, even driving here. I kept thinking that it couldn't possibly be real. But here it is.' I say, almost guiltily, as if I lied to them, pretending I knew it existed. But Megan isn't convinced.

'I hate to say it, but Rosie's right.' She says, her face scrunched up.

'Hey!' Rosie says, spinning on Megan, but Megan just rolls her eyes and picks up her camera. She clicks through the pictures she has taken and instantly one takes my eyes. She pauses on it, and I can't believe what I am seeing. No. That can't be right. It's surely a trick of the light.

'It doesn't make sense. Why would Grace's mum come here?' She says, zooming in and inspecting the building, holding up the camera screen so the picture is right beside the real structure.

'I-' Grace starts, but when she sees the look on my face, she stops. No. It can't be true. But it is. It really is her.

'Because that's my mum.' I say.

Grace comes up next to me. She runs her fingers along my cheek, and I turn my face to her. 'Hey, are you alright?' She asks sweetly. And I can give two answers. I can tell her that I'm totally fine and that we can go whenever she's ready. Or I can tell her the truth, that I don't want to go, because I'm scared of what I'm going to find.

'Yeah, I'm fine. We can go whenever you're ready.' I say, surprised at how easily the lie rolled off my tongue.

'Alexei,' she whispers 'You are not alright. Come on, you need to talk. Let's go somewhere.'

'Grace, I'm fine. Drop it okay.' I snap at her. And she cups my face in her hands. I avoid her gaze. Why doesn't she get that I don't want to talk about it?

'Hey. Hey. Look at me. Alexei. Come on, we're going somewhere.' She says, and I appreciate that she cares, but that doesn't mean I want to talk. 'Megan,' She turns to face Megan, who is looking at her phone intently. 'Is there anywhere private we can go?'

'Grace, I-' I begin. But she interrupts me.

'Alexei. Don't argue with me. Megan?'

'Yeah, she says, come one. I have some place in mind.'

 **Soooo... Is Alexei finally going to open up to Grace about his past, or will he try and be strong for her. Next chapter should be up tomorrow or the next day, but I can't promise anything, sorry, but exams kind of have to take priority, as much as I hate them... Lol. Please review or PM me if you have any ideas for things that should happen... because soon Alexei and Grace won't be together for a while... :) Thanks guys, all your support is very much appreciated.**


	11. OPENING UP

**Hi guys, I know this chapter is a bit shorter, but I want to make them more concise so that they're more enjoyable. The next chapter should be up within the next couple of days, because my exams finished today! YAY haha. Hope you enjoy...**

CHAPTER TEN: OPENING UP

We leave Binevale after another couple of minutes. Megan drives when we get to the car, and I have no objections. I sit in the backseat next to Grace, she has Rosie on her other side. But she is looking at me intently. But I can't look at her. I don't want her to see me like this.

My mother. Karina Volkov, is alive and less than a kilometre away from me. I... I can't believe it. She is so skinny. And pale. She looks like a ghost. Not like my mother.

Then again, ten years has passed since I've seen her. I just can't believe that she's actually alive, and that Binevale actually exists. So much is going through my head right now. As reluctant as I am to open up to Grace, maybe it would be a good idea for me to tell her some things.

'I think...' Megan says, as she drives down a dirt road. A small house comes into view, and it literally looks like it has grown out of the ground. 'Yeah, we're here.' She says, with a nod of her head.

'What is this place?' Noah asks. Megan shrugs and gets out of the car. We all follow her, and when I start walking briskly towards the porch, Grace grabs my hand and turns me back to face her. She reaches up and kisses my cheek. She just pulls me close and hugs me tightly.

'Alexei, come on. We need to talk.' She pulls away and grabs my hand. 'Come on. Go sit around the back, I need to speak with Megan for a second.' I just nod and make my way to the back porch.

I sit down on the back stairs and fold my arms. She can't force me to talk to her. I'll just tell her to drop it. Who am I kidding? When has Grace ever taken "no" for an answer?

'Hey. Alexei.' I hear from behind me. I turn around and see Grace walking towards me. She sits down next to me and rests her head on my shoulder. I put my arms around her and hold her close.

'Here's the deal. I know you don't want to talk to me about this sort of thing, because it'll ruin your "stoic, mucho man" image. But Alexei, you need to open up about the way you feel to me, because it's not good for you to keep all of those emotions bottled up inside of you. Alexei, you need to talk to me.' She looks up at me earnestly. I want to talk to her, but I also just can't do it.

'No. Gracie. I don't need to do anything. You can't force me to talk to you. You know what, just leave me alone, I'm sick of you acting like you know me. Well guess what Gracie, you don't know me at all.' I say loudly. And to be honest, I don't regret it at all, no matter how much I love her, she needs to be put in her place.

She stands up quickly and I think she is going to leave until she moves around to stand in front of me.

'Uh...Yeah I do.' She says, and I know she's not leaving until I talk to her.

'Alexei, what happened back there?' She asks me, concern filling her beautiful eyes.

I can't keep my anger at bay anymore.

'Oh, gee Grace... I don't know? Tell me, please, what would your reaction have been if you saw your presumably dead and missing mother for the first time in over ten years? Huh?' I yell at her, and it's only when the words have escaped my mouth that I realise what I've said. She opens her mouth in shock and remains numb on the place. She raises her eyebrows and I feel absolutely awful.

'Gracie, I'm sorry. I didn't mea-'

Oh, gee Alexei... I don't know? And I guess I never will, will I?' She steps back, and starts running down the stairs and towards the trees.

'Grace, hey, Grace. Wait!' I get up and run after her, but she is running _fast_. I don't think I've ever seen her run so quickly. But I still catch up to her in no time. I grab her by the waist and lift her up. She spins around and pushes my shoulder with so much force that I fall backwards.

'Don't touch me Alexei, don't even come near me.' She yells, and she is furious. She turns away from me and runs her fingers through her hair.

'God, Alexei, why do you always do this. You always pretend that you're okay, when you're obviously not. Then when I try to talk to you, you never open up to me. Alexei, why can't you just talk to me without snapping and getting all defensive, just open up to me and be honest for the love of god!' She screams at me, and I grab her by the wrists, pinning her against a tree.

'Alright, Grace. You want me to be honest about my feelings, I mean really honest?' I ask her, glaring with intensity. She nods, and looks down at our feet.

'Well. Grace. If I'm being honest with you, then, well I love you Gracie, and I want to be with you for the rest of our lives. And, those are just about the only feelings I have. Sure, I was caught off guard a little, because I saw my mother, but there is no one else in the world that I care about more than you. Grace Olivia Blakely, you meant the absolute world to me, and there is nothing that could change that. You know why I don't tell you about my feelings. Because I basically have no feelings, and the ones that I do have, are fucked up. Grace, you have no idea, but I don't want you to have to deal with all the shit that I go through as well, because I know that you care about me, and when you care about someone, you care about the way you feel, but I don't want you to have to care about the way I-'

She reaches up and kisses me softly, brushing her lips against mine.

'Shhh. Alexei. I love you too.' She says softly. I reach down and wrap my hands around her waist.

'Gracie.' I say softly, thickening my accent. She loops her arms around my neck and kisses me, hard this time. She runs her fingers through my hair, and we have a tongue wrestle. She moves her hands to my back and I savour the sweet taste of her lips on mine. We stand there for what feels like an eternity, and she slowly pulls away. I lean back, and our faces are nearly 10cm away from each other.

God, she is the most beautiful woman I have ever set my eyes on.

'Grace, I want to be open with you.' I say, and I mean it I truly do.

'Well that's good, I want us to be honest with each other.' She says with a small smile. She looks up at me and leans in again, but I have to pull away from her.

'But...Grace, I don't want to burden you with worries about me, because guess what? I'm not important. The only thing that matters to me is you. Your safety is my number one priority. So, I don't care if I am in danger, I want to get yourself out of danger. If I am dying, I want you to make sure that you can't get hurt. Because you are important, and I am not.' I say, hoping that she will get that I don't matter and that she needs to stop worrying about me.

'You're important to me.' She says softly, and brings her lips slowly to mine. Obviously, she doesn't get it. I pull away again, knowing I will probably regret it soon, but Grace needs to know that she takes priority over me.

'No Grace. I need you to promise me that you will always put yourself first. Okay?' I ask her, my eyes honing in on her like lasers.

'Alexei, I'm not going to promise you anything like that. I love you, and I'm sorry but I don't care if you want to put me first, but I am crazy, and there is no point in saving someone who is crazy.' She says with a sad laugh.

'Yeah, well I'm crazy about you Grace, I'm sorry, but that's the way it is, and you can't change it. So, are you going to put yourself first?' I ask her.

She shrugs. 'Sure thing.' I can tell she doesn't mean it, but I don't want to ruin our moment, so I don't press her anymore.

'So, what do you say we go inside?' She asks me, and I agree. No matter what, I think I will always agree with my Gracie.

 **So, I hope you enjoyed that chapter. Like I said earlier, the next one should be up in a matter of days. Xo Ella**


	12. PREPARING

**Hey. Sorry this took so long, but now that I'm in holiday mode, I'm a bit out of things. Plus it's Christmas eve in like a couple of hours for me so I've been super busy. Hope you enjoy. Review or PM :)**

CHAPTER ELEVEN: PREPARING

When Grace and I go back inside, we find Megan, Noah and Rosie all sitting down around a large round table.

'When we moved to Adria, my mum sat me down and made me memorise fifty phone numbers, and twice as many addresses. This is one of them.' Megan says, as she gets up and walks over to the front door, peers out and then turns around to face us again.

'What is it?' Noah asks for all of us.

'It's a safe house.' Megan says, as if every 17yr old girl casually rocks up at safe houses every day.

'But what kind of safe?' Noah asks with his eyebrows raised. Rosie stands up and turns the lights on, as it is beginning to darken outside. The bulbs hum and crackle to life, and it is evident that no one has been here for a very long time.

There is a wall lined with machine guns and another with ancient computers and maps with lots of dots on them. There is no mistaking that Megan's mother is in the CIA.

'What can I say? Safe. House.' Says Megan, and we all move around the house slowly, opening cabins and drawers. In a drawer, there is a picture of three girls. I know who it is without looking twice. I slam the drawer closed and walk over to where Grace is looking at the guns. Her shoulders are all tensed up, so I massage them

'Is that a shower? Please tell me that's a shower.' Noah says, looking into a room. But Grace still doesn't relax.

'Megan, should we be here?' She asks, her voice a little high-pitched.

'Do you have someplace else to be?' Megan asks her with her arms crossed. Grace just shrugs and moves to the table and sits down.

'What happens now?' Rosie asks the question on everyone's lips. Even though this is Megan's safe house, we all turn to Grace. After all, she is the one who dragged us all out there, and she is usually the one with the plan, no matter how crazy it is.

We all just want to sleep, and eat. So, I am so grateful when Noah steps forwards, clapping his hands together.

'Now we sleep. And we eat. And we try to figure out what comes next.' We all nod in agreement.

'Yes!' Rosie adds over-excitedly. 'Exactly what is the best way of breaking a woman out of a former Soviet mental facility? Explosives? I think it might be explosives.' She concludes, with a proud gleam in her eyes. It's all I can do not to roll my eyes.

'There can be no explosives, Rosemarie.' I say, gritting my teeth. Sometimes, as adorable as she is, she can be quite frustrating.

'Of course, there can be,' She says, flicking her hand, as if 13-year-old German girls always plot to blow up Soviet mental institutions. 'I saw some in that cabinet over-'

'My mother is in there for a reason!' I bellow. And I don't know what comes over me, but I don't like it. It's like the old Alexei is resurfacing, but I can't let him. None of my friends have seen me like that. Not even Grace has ever seen me like I used to be. _I_ haven't even seen that part of myself is years. I vowed to myself that I would keep it that way, so that's what I'm going to do.

I breathe in deeply, crush my knuckles in my palms and proceed with caution.

'She is in there for a reason.' I say again, and the calmness in my voice is a total contrast to what I am feeling inside of me. And Grace is the only one who sees it. I want to rip out my hair, and do something to cause myself as much pain as my mother leaving did. 'That is where we found her. And that is where she will stay.' I say, with a hint of guilt in my voice. But as soon as I remember what she did to me, all of those feelings fly out the window.

'Alexei-' Rosie begins, but the stare I give her is easily colder than the whole of Russia on the coldest of mid-winter morning.

'This is not a debate.' I warn, and it's only partly a threat. 'Whatever she did, she should stay there. People get sent to Binevale for a reason. She deserves it.' Only when I speak the words, I realise how true they are. She deserves to stay locked up there forever for the way she left me.

' _I deserved it._ ' I hear mumbled from behind me. As soon as I hear the trembling voice cut through the silence, I realise how careful I need to be when I open my mouth. Grace is incredibly sensitive about the issue at hand here. She is fragile and beautiful, and needs to be protected. Physically, and emotionally.

I turn around slowly and walk towards her carefully. When I reach her, she starts to rock back and forward. I wrap my arms around her, and she instantly stiffens. I hold her and sway, left and right, hoping to relax her anxiety a little bit. After a couple of minutes, I pull back and hold her shoulders, looking down into her beautifully complex eyes. And it hits me. She should NOT be anywhere near Binevale. She needs to be watched over by Dominic every minute of every day. She is too delicate, and she can't handle the sort of pressure it takes to be anywhere near this awful, awful place.

'We should get you back to Dominic.' I say, 100% seriously. As much as I love being along with Grace, her safety is my number one priority, and there is no length I wouldn't go to to protect her. I turn to the others. 'You need to return to Adria now. Forget about us. Stick to your routines and your embassies. There are no answers here.' I tell them. I grab Grace by the hand and squeeze it tightly. She needs to relax, because heaven knows I won't until she does.

'No!' Instead of sinking into my body, she takes me by surprise and yanks her hand out of mine, walking over to the other side of the room and looking out the grimy window. Noah looks at me, as if to say "huh? What's that about?" I shrug my shoulders and gesture towards her with my face.

Megan and Rosie excuse themselves and move over to the table, where Megan pulls her laptop out of her bag and opens it.

'Grace...' Noah says slowly, moving cautiously towards her. 'Are you ok?'

'No!' She exclaims again, this time more viciously. She wheels on me and takes fast and steady steps towards me as she yells. 'My mum came here. And if there's any chance that your mum knows why, then I am going to take it.' She says, and I wish I could make her see just how wrong she is.

'You don't understand, Grace. People do not get sent to Binevale by accident. Whatever she did to end up in that place...' I trail off, and she is quick to contradict me.

'Oh, and no one has ever been imprisoned unjustly?' She asks me. I don't care if she has a point, because I know that if Grace sets one foot in that place, she will lose her shit. 'Besides, criminal or not – crazy or not – I don't care. I have to talk to her. I am going to talk to her. I don't care what it takes.' She finishes and slumps down in a chair, with her head in her hands. The scary thing about what she's said is that I know how much she means it. She would stop at nothing to get inside those gates, and I will stop at nothing to prevent her from doing just that.

Grace wipes her hands down her face and looks to Megan, who is copying the photos from her camera across to her laptop. She shakes her head and puts her chin in her hands, waiting to hear the beep.

'It didn't look that secure. I hate to say it, but Rosie may be right.' She says with an annoyed expression. Rosie opens her mouth, thinking of a retaliation. Noah and I supress a laugh.

'I'm standing right here,' Rosie gasps. Megan rolls her eyes and continues.

'It's old. Unless they've spent a lot of money upgrading it, then the walks should be fairly breachable. And there weren't a ton of guards. If we watched for a few days, and mapped out their patterns, then there might be a window of opportunity. Of course, there might also be a fortress and an army hidden underground or something, but... I kind of think we could do it.' She finishes with a shrug of her shoulders.

I can tell that she really wants to do something. She is bored. However, she also hates confirming the possibility that it's achievable. Because she knows as well as I do that if Grace gets answers, she is just going to get into more trouble.

Noah scoffs and shakes his head, like he is trying to check if he's dreaming or not. 'Just to be clear, by "it", you mean break someone out of a Cold War-era, former Soviet facility that is so infamous and scary and generally feared that it has become a bad nursery rhyme that people use to scare children? Also, though I hate to point this out, _we_ are children.'

'Nursery rhymes usually start with the truth.' Grace says, as if she is trying to find reason within this absolutely unreasonable situation.

'That doesn't make me feel better!' Noah mumbles.

Megan throws her hands up in the air, 'I'm just saying that I don't think it's _impossible_.' Noah goes to recompense, but before he can, I can't help but let out a loud, yet joyless, laugh.

'What is it?' Megan says as she turns to me, she looks both angry and confused. For the most intelligent girl I know, she sure is clueless and naive sometimes.

'People don't get sent to Binevale because they're dangerous. They get sent because they're the kind of people no one is going to come looking for.' I say, and I know it's harsh, but honestly, my mother is dead to me. She was no mother, she just disappeared, and left me with my abusive father. Grace moves back over towards where I am sitting on the table, and sits down next to me. She puts her arm around my shoulders and rubs my leg softly.

Rosie nods her head slowly, 'So explosives? Or helicopter. Because-' She starts to ask, but is interrupted by Grace.

'We don't have to break her out.' She says, putting her head on my shoulder.

'But we could.' Rosie says, wiggling her eyebrows.

'We have to talk to her,' she says gesturing towards me and her, and when I look down at her, she corrects herself. 'I have to talk to her.'

Of course, Megan is the one who studies the logistics. 'Grace, I don't think they're going to let you walk up the gates and schedule a meeting.' She says, and she is right. I know what Grace is going to say before she turns to me and utters the words I know are going to make me mad.

'No,' She says looking up at me sweetly, 'But they might let her son do it.'

'She no longer has a son.' I get up quickly and move out of the room. When I get to the door, I quickly grab my jacket and run out into the stormy night. Trying to escape Grace and the vulnerability she manages to bring to the surface.

 **Dramatic Exit* Haha. I hope you liked that. The next chapter should be up before New Years, because I want to spend a lot of time with my family over the next couple of days! :) Review or PM me if you liked that or have any suggestions.**

 **-Ella**


	13. THAT'S DEEP BRO

**Everyone, I am so sincerely sorry for not posting for so long. I have just started grade nine, and while it might not be very challenging academically, seeing as I am committed to everything from netball to debating and musicals, I have a very busy schedule and am involved in extra-curricular activities until at least 8:00pm every night apart from Thursdays, when I finish rehearsals at 6 and have to do my week worth of homework. Of course, my weekends revolve around work and assignments and lots of sports. I have also just heard the news that I might have to get a knee reconstruction after recently hurting it at a training session. I should be alright but I will be getting scans and things hopefully in the next couple of days. On the plus side, this will allow a lot more time for me to write fan fiction and to enjoy more free time. Until then however, I will make a huge effort to upload this story at least every two weeks, but though the workload at the moment is not very significant, it will start to get larger every week leading up to exams. I really hope you like this chapter xx**

 **\- Ella 3**

CHAPTER TWELVE Thats deep man

After sitting in the car for half an hour, the rain finally subsides a little, providing a window of opportunity for me to drive up the winding road back to Binevale. Of course, once I get to the top of the hill overlooking the institution, the rain has started bucketing down again, thus obscuring my vision. However, I can still make out the outline of the building that has haunted my imagination for a decade.

I can also make out the outline of a skinny figure, running towards the car. I quickly reach down and grab the umbrella that sits beside the driver's seat, when suddenly Noah slams into the side of the car.

I jump back in fright, expressing my surprise through some colourful language. Noah starts to tap on the window, so I open the door and slide across to the passenger seat. Noah jumps straight into the car and slams the door closed behind him. Shivering, he turns the keys in the ignition and blasts the heat out of the AC.

'Uhhh, Noah?' I ask, as he shoves his hands in front of the wave of heat the car is emitting. Keeping his focus on his hands, which are returning to their natural colour, he looks at me out of the corner of his eyes.

'What's up?' He says casually, and I have to supress a laugh.

'Yes, I could just as easily ask you the same thing.' I say with a hint of a smile playing on my lips. I am very confused as to why he felt the need to chase me up the kilometre long, windy road. When he doesn't answer and just chuckles a little, I grab his shoulder playfully, and turn him to face me. He sighs and put his face in his now pink hands.

'Ohhhhh brother.' He says, shaking his head. He drags his hands down his face and looks me dead in the eye. 'Alexei, that girl is going to be the death of you.' I have no idea what he is trying to say, but I can tell by the look on his face that he is far from joking.

'How do you mean?' I ask, utterly bemused. He studies me for a moment, then claps his hands together.

'Alexei. You love Grace so much that you'd be willing to sacrifice anything, for the guarantee of her safety and happiness... correct?' I nod and so does he. 'Alright, well seeing as that's the case, I think you need to take a moment and really consider this. What would your life be like without her?' If I wasn't confused now, then I most certainly am now!

'I'm sorry, I'm still not following.' I say, trying my best not to slap him for being so frustrating.

'If anything were to happen to you, then she wouldn't stand a chance. You are her rock. She is yours. You have a mutual reliance on each other's mental and physical stability. So, if you're going to waltz into Binevale and see your mother, then you need to be prepared that you will never be the same again. Alexei, places like that change people. Even if they're only in there for half an hour. You seeing your mother could be the undoing of the build-up of all the emotions you have experienced throughout your whole childhood. Losing your mother in the first place, your father abusing you, seeing Grace again, almost losing her again. Do you see what I'm getting at now?'

Unfortunately, I do. I see exactly what he is getting at, and the worst part is that I know he's right. But that doesn't mean I have to abide by his suggestions, or agree with them.

'Noah, I see what you mean, but Grace has dragged us all the way across Europe so that she can speak to my mother, and I don't think I can do anything to change her plans. I'll try, but I don't think it'll work. Anyways, what would you do if you were in my position. I mean, I don't exactly want to see my mother, at all. But I do want to satisfy Grace's needs, because I know that this her mission, and she won't rest until it's completed.' I finish, and see Noah contemplate this for a few short moments. When at last he seems to understand, he looks up at me, with an intense gaze.

'Alexei, I will support you, no matter what. Just... Be careful; please.' He says, and I find myself compelled to tell him everything. _Everything_. From the moment I first woke up and found the Russian embassy in sheer chaos. Instead, I settle for expressing my gratitude with an awkward and uncomfortable bro hug.

'Thanks Noah, it really means a lot.'

'Anytime. I'm always here for you, come find me anytime and we can talk about anything you need to get off your chest.' I smile and nod my head.

Suddenly, I hear a buzzing coming from somewhere over the back seat. I take my seatbelt off and climb over the driver's seat. I rummage around in the dark for a few seconds until my phone screen lights up and buzzes again. I grab it up quickly and read the message.

ANONYMS

Tread lightly, Alexei. You never know where you'll find trouble. I'm going to hunt you and your girlfriend down until you both are no more.

Sincerely

J xo

 **SHIT IS ABOUT TO GO DOWN! OOOFFF. I hope you liked that. Again, my upload schedule is so far indefinite, but I will try to balance school and writing and everything else a bit better. However next chapter should hopefully be up within the next week or too. Please dont be mad at me for not uploading for this long, but then again, it's fairly out of my control. Love you guys and thanks for your amazing suggestions and support.**


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